SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University field hockey team will open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament action vs. No. 2 seeded Fairfield, Friday at 11 a.m. in West Long Branch, N.J.
The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 1 Monmouth /No. 4 Rider (Friday, 2 p.m.) in the MAAC Championship on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m.
FULL GAME NOTES
THE SERIES
Friday will mark only the third meeting between the Bulldogs (4-13, 4-2 MAAC) and Stags (7-12, 4-2) with the series tied, 1-1. The Black and Gold most recently defeated Fairfield, 2-1, in overtime at the Goldberger Family Field in mid-October.
Freshman Freya Ward (Haywards Heath, England) tied the contest for the Bulldogs in the 19th minute after finishing the initial shot from sophomore Emily Perryman (Lebanon, N.H.). Perryman went on to score the game-winner in extra time, as she shot and scored from the top right of the circle.
SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield, defending MAAC Champions, enters only their second season in the league as the No. 2 seed in this year's tournament. In similar fashion to Bryant, the Stags finished 4-2 in conference play, defeating Rider, Siena, Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn. Bryant and No. 1 seeded Monmouth were the only conference teams to defeat the Stags in the league's regular season. In nonleague play, Fairfield recorded wins over Saint Louis, Villanova and William and Mary.
As a unit, the Stags tallied the league's second most assists with 50. The 50 helpers contributed to 56 goals, ranking the Stags third in the league in the respective category. In overall statistics so heavily populated by Monmouth players, Fairfield has a number of top contenders, including the Stags' leading point scorer in Ann Burgoyne. The senior forward has totaled 30 points off 11 goals and eight assists. Burgoyne is just one of six players to total double-digit points on the year, proving the Stags pose a threat from many angles. Sophomore Emma Clark leads the team with 10 goals, while senior Julie de Paeuw has dished out a team-high 10 assists. Goalkeeper Caitlin Bennett has started all 18 games she has appeared in, logging 100 saves while posting a 7-11 record in over 1,300 minutes in goal. The senior has allowed 44 goals on the season, giving up an average of 2.36 a game. Bennett ranks third in the MAAC with a .694 save percentage and recorded a single shutout this season in the Stags' 10-0 win over LIU Brooklyn.
FIRST APPEARANCE SINCE 2013
The 2016 Bulldogs return to the postseason after a two-year hiatus. The last time Bryant played in November was 2013, in its MAAC debut season, when the then third-seeded Bulldogs took on second-seeded Quinnipiac. The result was a 5-0 loss and the Bobcats went on to win the MAAC Championship over Robert Morris, 1-0, their first title in 10 years. Prior to joining the MAAC in 2013, the Bulldogs made their first-ever Division I postseason appearance in 2010 as the No. 3 seed in the NEC Semifinals. The Black and Gold took on No. 2 Monmouth, losing, 4-1, before the Hawks went on to fall, 1-0, to Rider in the league finals.
THIRD TIME IS A CHARM
Friday's game marks not only Bryant's third trip to the conference tournament but also its third time finishing as the No. 3 seed in the postseason. In the first two appearances, the Bulldogs' journey was slighted in the semifinals and the Black and Gold have not made it to a league championship in their nine years at the Division I level. The theme of threes does not end there as the Bulldogs have made it to the league tournament every three years since moving to Division I: 2010, 2013 and 2016. In her eighth season at the helm and ninth in Smithfield, Shaunessy Saucier looks to make three her lucky number, as she leads her Bulldogs into the postseason battle for the third time in her career.
EXTRA TIME
This season, the Bulldogs have endured four overtime matches, posting a 1-3 overall record and 1-0 tally in the conference. The Bulldogs sole overtime victory came against Fairfield in mid-October when Emily Perryman put it away for the Black and Gold in the 79th minute. In correspondence to their four overtime appearances, the Bulldogs have been a part of seven one-goal differentiated games, six of which resulted in losses. Again, the only game to result in a one-goal victory was against Fairfield two weeks ago.
TOP PERFORMERS
The Bulldogs have been led the whole season by senior Victoria Danby (Lancaster, Mass.), who totals 16 points off six goals and four assists. The forward tops Bryant's stats in all three categories, as well as shots (66) and shots on goal (41), ranking her third in the league in both. Freshman Freya Ward has put together a stellar second half of her debut season, totaling 11 points off five goals and one assist, earning her MAAC Rookie of the Week after scoring in back-to-back Bryant victories. Joining Ward in league recognitions is sophomore Emily Perryman who was dubbed MAAC Player of the Week after racking up seven points in two games, including the game-tying assist and game-winning goal against Fairfield. The midfielder put together a career-best four point performance against Sacred Heart off two goals. Perryman enters the postseason with nine points off four goals and one assist. Freshman Floor van Dommelen (Berg en Dal, Netherlands) is the third Bulldogs to earn double-digit points this season, tallying 10 off four goals and two assists. Junior Keighan Richardson (North Attleboro, Mass.) rounds out Bryant's top-five performers, posting five points off a single goal and three assists from the backline. Richardson scored her only goal off the Bulldogs' only penalty stroke of the season in the team's, 5-2, win over Sacred Heart. Sophomore Marissa Elizardo (North Wales, Pa.) has started all 17 games in the cage, posting a .664 save percentage. Elizardo totals 79 saves on the season, racking up a career-best 13 against Rider in early October. Elizardo's personal record saves marked the second time this season that she had racked up double-digit stops. The young keeper has given up 40 goals this year, allowing an average of 2.26 a game, placing her third in the lead in goals against average. Elizardo posted her only shutout of the season in Bryant's 6-0 win over LIU Brooklyn in Smithfield.
