Thursday, April 09, 2009
BULLDOGS LOOK TO ACHIEVE ULTIMATE SEASON GOAL WITH WIN OVER PRESBYTERIAN FRIDAY NIGHT: A WINNING SEASON
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Their season's greatest goal has eluded them once already.
But now, 10 days removed from their last contest, the No. 1 goal of the Bryant University men's lacrosse team - an above .500 record - seems close enough to touch. And this Friday night, the Bulldogs will do their best to not let that chance slip away again.
Because when the Bulldogs host fellow Division I transitioner Presbyterian College at the Bulldog Turf Complex Friday at 7 p.m., they will be playing not just for their fourth home win in five tries, but for their eighth victory of the season, securing the 2009 Bulldogs their winning record.
"We're going to be very excited to play coming off a 10-day layoff, and we're very grateful for Presbyterian to agree to play us in our transition year and especially to come to Bryant in April," said third-year head coach Mike Pressler. "But it's so important for us to understand where we are at with our goals, and our goal has always been, from Day 1, to have a winning season - and that means eight ‘W's.
"But we don't expect this to be easy either."
The Bulldogs sport a 7-5 record entering Friday's game, their last contest - also their first attempt at win No. 8 - coming on March 31 in an 11-7 loss to No. 12 Brown. But that milestone could be ripe for the taking against the Blue Hose, who come to Smithfield, R.I. with a 1-9 record.
Presbyterian is led by 23 points from Sean Mulford off 12 goals and 11 assists, while Andrew Athens boasts a team-best 13 tallies, chipping in a trio of dishes.
The Blue Hose have used 12 different scorers on the year, six of whom scored in the team's only win of the season, a 15-12 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy.
Only three players, Mulford, Dave Hahn and Jon Athens, have started all 10 contests for the Blue Hose while 18 have earned a spot in the starting lineup at some point this season.
Between the pipes, Jon Athens owns a 13.65 goals against average and a .493 save percentage, having faced 418 shots so far on the year.
The Bulldogs, coming off their longest break of the season, are ready to take on their challengers, a team not so different from Bryant's own program.
"We're ready to play on a nice April night under the lights, against a team we've never seen or played before," said Pressler. "They're making the journey up from South Carolina to play Bryant and Hartford this weekend to end their season. We're very similar to Presbyterian in that we are both making our transition to Division I, the only benefit we have is that we've played lacrosse longer as a program than they have."
The time off has been a good thing for the Bulldogs, who pushed through a grueling schedule of quick turnaround games in the first half of the 2009 season.
"I think the break has been a good thing, to kind of let us regroup," said Pressler. "We've had some nagging injuries and it's so important for us to finish these last three games hopefully fresher than we have been the last couple of weeks."
Not that the Bulldogs haven't been performing. They have seven wins in their inaugural DI season and have faced off against five nationally ranked programs, keeping each of those contests close despite the losses.
Bryant fields three 20+ goal scorers in a top attacking unit of Zack Greer (32g, 19a), Bryan Kaufmann (23g, 12a) and Kevin Hoagland (22g, 11a), while five other Bulldogs register double-digit points on the year.
A pair of rookies in Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) have stepped up in a big way as of late, chipping in nine goals apiece to put them at No. 5 and No. 6 on the team in point contribution. Meanwhile, the top faceoff specialist in the country has donned the Black and Gold in junior Andrew Hennessey (Wading River, N.Y.), whose .699 winning percentage is tops in the nation.
"I think we're just really coming on in our first midfield," said Pressler. "The addition of Max Weisenberg into our first midfield has been a positive jolt for that line.
"And how do you imagine that Andrew Hennessey would be the No. 1 faceoff specialist in the land at 70 percent with over 100 ground balls?" Pressler continued.
The Bulldogs also boast a freshman goalie who has been not only consistently steady and reliable, but has been, more often than not, spectacular between the posts. With a 9.64 goals against average and a .534 save percentage against some of the stiffest competition in the country, Love has been an anchor for the Bulldogs on the defensive end.
"Another shining spot this entire year has been the play of Jameson Love," Pressler said. "I'm very proud of Jameson and how he's held up in goal against the quality competition we've faced."
But while Bryant goes for its milestone as a team, one of its own will go for a personal milestone.
Kaufmann, with three games left to play in his senior season, sits just two points shy of collecting his 200th career point. With 64 assists to compliment 134 career tallies, Kaufmann enters Friday's contest with 198 points.
"I think, with that said, Bryan is in good shape with three games to go to reach that career goal," said Pressler. "But that's just a testament to the great career Bryan Kaufmann has had, a very consistent career as a Bryant Bulldog."
The Bulldogs round out the season at home, starting with Friday's contest, and look for finish strong after what has been an already inspiring first-year DI campaign.
"Our guys have been very sharp, I'm very pleased with that," said Pressler. "We're kinda concluding our season here, we're less than two weeks away from the finish and our objective is to end 2009 on a very high note."
