SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With just two games left until officially opening MAAC play, the Bryant University field hockey team will close out non-conference action over the weekend, hosting La Salle Friday night (7 p.m.), before heading to Maine on Sunday (1 p.m.).
After rattling off seven-straight victories during the month of September, the Bulldogs opened October with a heartbreaking overtime loss at Holy Cross Tuesday night. Scoreless for the first 60 minutes of gameplay, freshman midfielder Kimberly Lizotte (Littleton, Mass.) tipped in an Olivia Jankins (West Brookfield, Mass.) shot attempt to push the Black and Gold out front with less than 10 minutes to play. However the resilient Crusaders notched the equalizer just over minutes later, eventually earning the W at the 77:34 mark of OT.
Despite the loss, Bryant put together its best month in program history in September, setting the mark for the best record through eight games (7-1) since the program's inception in 1999.
On Friday (7 p.m.), the Bulldogs will faceoff with La Salle under the lights at the Bryant Turf Complex. The Explorers enter weekend action with a 3-7 overall record coming off a 4-2 win over Lehigh on Sunday. Senior Olivia Shoemaker leads her team with 17 points on seven goals and a trio of assists, followed closely by classmate Mariel Papa's 14 points and junior Maddy Tettelbach's 13. Junior Lisa Shaffer has started all 10 games between the pipes for La Salle, recording a .738 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average.
From there, the Black and Gold will head to Orono, Maine to face the very tough Black Bears Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.). Coming into the weekend with a 5-4 overall mark, Maine has won five of their last six contests, including three-straight. Juniors Annabelle Hamilton and Holly Stewart lead the way with 15 and 14 points, respectively, while sophomore Natasha Ford has been lights out in net, allowing just 1.75 goals per game. Maine will do battle with Albany on Saturday before welcoming Bryant to Orono on Sunday.
With their MAAC debut just one week away, the Bulldogs will look to get back on track heading into the final month of the season.
For links to streaming video and live stats of the weekend action and all the latest news on the Bryant University field hockey team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.
