May 4, 2007

BRYANT ADVANCES TO NE-10 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH 19-11 WIN OVER MERRIMACK

BOX SCORE

Bryan Kaufmann (above) and Kevin Hoagland each had five goals to lead Bryant past Merrimack 19-11.  The Bulldogs host Le Moyne Sunday for the Northeast-10 Championship.  View and purchase game photos at www.dspics.com

SMITHFIELD, RI - Bryant's sophomore tandem of Bryan Kaufmann (Putnam Valley, NY) and Kevin Hoagland (Glastonbury, Conn.) each scored five goals to help lead the sixth-ranked Bryant University men's lacrosse team to a 19-11 win over Merrimack College in a Northeast-10 Conference semifinal game before 453 fans at a sun-splashed Bulldog Stadium Friday afternoon. 

With the win, Bryant will advance to the conference tournament championship for the fourth time where they will face defending champion Le Moyne this Sunday at Bulldog Stadium starting at 1:00 pm. The Dolphins, who had their 70-game conference win streak snapped by the Bulldogs 10-9 in overtime back in March, defeated Saint Michael's 15-5 in Friday's other semifinal.  

Bryant (11-3), the top seed of the tournament after winning the regular season championship for the first time this year, wasted little time setting the tone Friday against the fourth-seeded Warriors.  Kaufmann forced Merrimack goalie Eric Tompkins to turn the ball over behind his own net just a few minutes into the game and proceeded to hit a waiting Hoagland in front of the net to make it a quick 1-0 lead. 

The Bulldogs would tack on two more to make it 3-0 before Merrimack would get on the board as Kyle Beaudoin scored an unassisted goal after a faceoff to cut the lead to 3-1. 

Bryant would quickly stretch the lead to 5-1 as co-captain Corey MacDougall (Waltham, Mass.) forced Jo Pisano to lose control after a good stick check.  MacDougall would clear the zone and get the ball up to Kaufmann who flipped it to Hoagland who one-timed it by Tompkins for his second of the day.   

The Bulldogs led 10-4 at the half but a scoring spurt in the early stages of the third helped the Warriors (6-8) to trim the lead down to 11-7 with 10:15 left in the third.

But Jim Long (Durham, NH) was there for the Bulldogs with a big answer.  The sophomore was able to haul in a great pass from Hoagland behind the net and slip it past Tompkins to make it 12-7.

From there, it was all Bryant as Long's goal was the first of five-straight tallies by the Bulldogs and the Bulldogs were never threatened. 

Two Matt McKeefrey (Melville, NY) goals to open the fourth and the Bryant defense closed the door, sending the Bulldogs to the championship game.

Michael Kennedy (Port Jefferson Station, NY) made 12 saves as the Bryant defense held Merrimack scorer Greg Rogowski to just two goals on the afternoon.  Rogowski came into the game with 40 goals on the season.

This will be Bryant's fourth trip to the NE-10 Championship game and the first since 2005.  All three losses in the final have been against Le Moyne in Syracuse, NY.  Bryant has never hosted the conference championship game. 

POST GAME NOTES ...

* Bryant is making its seventh-straight appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinals. 

* Bryant has advanced to four NE-10 conference tournament championships, the last coming in 2005 when the Bulldogs lost to Le Moyne 14-3.  Bryant fell to Le Moyne in the finals of the 2004 tournament 7-6. 

* In 2005, Bryant defeated Merrimack 10-9 in the semifinals. In 2006, Merrimack avenged the loss with a 12-10 win in North Andover, Mass. 

* Earlier this year, Bryant defeated Merrimack 12-11 on April 24 in North Andover, rallying from an 8-3 deficit in the first half.  The Bulldogs never trailed in Friday's game.