September 19, 2010

LANDI SCORES TWICE, BULLDOGS FALL TO RIVAL BROWN, 6-2, SUNDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Courtney Landi (Kingston, N.Y.) notched a pair of goals and gave the Bryant University field hockey team an early 1-0 lead, but the Bulldogs couldn't maintain a halftime tie, falling to crosstown rival Brown, 6-2, Sunday afternoon in Providence.

Landi gave the Bulldogs' their first lead of the season just 1:40 into the game, redirecting a through ball from sophomore Rachel Blitz (Riverwoods, Ill.) into the left corner and past Bears (1-4) goalie Lauren Kessler.

Leslie Springmeyer would respond for the home team as the fourth minute expired, slipping one past Bryant (0-7) netminder Jennifer Gullotti (Waltham, Mass.) to wipe the Bulldogs' lead and knot the contest at 1-1.

Abigail Taft netted her first score of the season to give Brown its first edge of the day at the 17:43 mark, tipping in a pass near post. But Landi wouldn't allow the deficit for long, sending both teams into the halftime break with a 2-2 tie after she scored on a blocked shot by teammate Brittany Glenn (Easthampton, Mass.) with just under 15 left to play in the frame.

But despite entering the second frame without a deficit for the first time in 2010, the Bulldogs' offense stumbled in the final 35 minutes, as the Bears held their opponents scoreless while netting a quartet of tallies for the 6-2 final.

Springmeyer and Taft each added another goal in the second half, while Cassie Puhalla and Katie Hyland bookended the scoring with their first and second tallies of the year, respectively. Torie Stearns recorded a trio of assists in the contest.

Brown outshot Bryant, 34-15, in the outing and 19-9 after the break. Gullotti made a career-high 13 stops despite taking the loss, while her counterpart was forced to make eight saves on the day. Bulldog junior Karlie Tiscia (Stamford, Conn.) recorded her first defensive save of the season to give the team 14 total saves.

Bryant continues its lengthy road stint Friday, Sept. 24 when the Black and Gold travel to upstate New York take on the University at Albany at 3 p.m.