SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Just two games into the 2014 campaign, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team faces one of its most challenging matchups of the season in Sunday afternoon's home opener, as No. 14/15 Bucknell University comes to the Turf Complex for a 1:00 p.m. faceoff.

Both teams played low-scoring affairs in their respective season openers last Saturday, with the Bison (1-0) entering Smithfield off a 6-4 home victory over Delaware. The Bulldogs (0-1) will be looking for their first win of the year in their first appearance in front of the home crowd.

"Rankings aside, I would put this 2014 Bucknell team inside the top 10," said head coach Mike Pressler. "They are extremely well coached."

The Bison have plenty of offensive power, getting goals from six different sources in the opener with seven picking up at least one point. On the other side of the ball, strong goalie play bolsters the team's defensive efforts, with Sam Grinberg turning away 12 shots while letting up just a quartet of scores in 33 shots faced. Grinberg was named the Patriot League Goalie of the Week for his efforts.

"Bucknell is probably the most well balanced team we'll play in our non-conference schedule," said Pressler. "They return veterans and key guys at each position. They play a unique style defensively and are very well balanced offensively.

"We will need to play very well at both ends of the field and especially in the middle if we are going to be successful in our home opener," he added.

Conversely, the Bulldogs – who played seven rookies in their season opener – saw only two goal scorers in last weekend's loss at Colgate, with senior midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) leading the way with his first hat trick of the season. Reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) added a goal and an assist in the outing, with junior Brian Schlansker (Glenville, N.Y.) doling out a helper of his own.

"Coming off the Colgate game, we were very disappointed with how we played at the offensive end, and we are certainly equally disappointed that we were under 50 percent facing off," said Pressler. "Looking at this week's matchup, those are two areas in particular we must improve to make this a one-goal game late in the fourth quarter."

And the Bulldogs will be expecting improvement in faceoff play for a reason, with preseason All-American and three-time NCAA record holder Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) at the X. Massa went just 7-for-15 with two ground balls against the Raiders but has a history of success against Bucknell, having gone 13-for-20 with eight ground balls against the Bison a season ago. Bucknell won that meeting, 10-8.

First faceoff is set for 1:00 p.m.