SMITHFIELD, RI – Sophomore attackman Bryan Kaufmann (Putnam Valley, NY) notched a hat trick with three goals but it was not enough to overtake fifth-ranked C.W. Post as the Pioneers withstood a late charge by ninth-ranked Bryant University to pull out a 10-7 win over the ninth-ranked Bulldogs in non-conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon.

With temperatures feeling more like spring compared to last week's opener that had a wind-chill in the single digits, the Bryant offense fell behind 4-1 after one quarter and the Bulldogs trailed 6-2 midway through the second before scoring a pair of goals just before halftime to close to within two.

Kaufmann found a seam in front of the Pioneer goal and beat CWP goalie Nick Dello-Iacono high for an unassisted goal to make it 6-3. Then, with under a minute to play in the half, sophomore Kevin Hoagland (Glastonbury, Conn.) picked up a loose ball after a save by Dello-Iacono on a shot by Bryant freshman Brad Burton (Hauppauge, NY), and one-timed one by the Pioneer goalie to make it 6-4 at the break.

In the second, CW Post went up 7-4 on a man-up goal by Greg Cerar (two goals) early, but Bryant would answer as Burton tallied a man-up goal of his own at the 8:57 mark and Kaufmann would net his third of the game after Burton snared another ground ball and quickly fed Kaufman who whirled around one defender and scored to make it 7-6.

CW Post (4-0) would make it a two-goal game a minute later on a goal by Joe Meo, but Bryant, finding a little momentum, had another answer as Hoagland took a feed on from a streaking Jim Long (Durham, NH) after a successful clear and ripped one past Dello-Iacono. to pull the Bulldogs to within a goal at 8-7.

Bryant (0-2), looking for the equalizer in the fourth, grabbed possession following a C.W. Post turnover near midfield, but a high pass back sailed over Bryant goalie Michael Kennedy (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and into the net for an own-goal and the Bulldogs were never able to recover.

Bryant out-shot the visiting Pioneers 41 to 23 but Dello-Iacono stood tall in net for the visitors. The senior made 20 saves on the afternoon, including several from within close range. Bryant, playing without all-American face-off specialist who was injured this week in practice, lost the face-off battle as Mike Cama had a strong game for C.W. Post, as the sophomore won of 14 of the 21 face-offs in the contest.

Bryant will travel to #9 Saint Andrew's next Sunday for a non-conference game starting at 1 p.m. The team will visit third-ranked NYIT on March 17 before returning home to host Pace on March 20. C.W. Post will travel to Southern N.H. next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game in Manchester, NH.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
CW Post.............  4  2  2  2 - 10
Bryant..............  1  3  3  0 -  7
 
CW Post SCORING:
GOALS: Cerar, Greg 2; Maloney, Tom 2; Dimler, Matt 1; Renetta,
       Rob 1; Senn, Charles 1; Merendino, Anthony 1; Meo, Joe 1; TEAM 1.
ASSISTS: Cerar, Greg 1; Dimler, Matt 1; Renetta, Rob 1; Senn, Charles 1.
 
Bryant SCORING:
GOALS: Bryan Kaufmann 3; Kevin Hoagland 2; Brad Burton 1; Ryan
       Tibbitts 1.
ASSISTS: Matt McKeefrey 2; Corey Crosbie 1; Jim Long 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
CW Post.............  9  4  6  4 - 23
Bryant..............  8 13 13  7 - 41
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
CW Post............. 12 11 10 17 - 50
Bryant.............. 11 12  9 13 - 45
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
CW Post.............  3-6   3-6   5-6   3-3  - 14-21
Bryant..............  3-6   3-6   1-6   0-3  -  7-21
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
CW Post.............  6-7   5-9   4-6   5-9  - 20-31
Bryant..............  5-7   3-3   6-6   4-5  - 18-21
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
CW Post.............  0-1   0-1   1-1   0-0  -  1-3
Bryant..............  0-0   1-4   1-2   0-3  -  2-9
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
CW Post.............  6  4  8  2 - 20
Bryant..............  2  2  0  2 -  6
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
CW Post............. 12 10  9 15 - 46
Bryant.............. 12  9  3 14 - 38
 
PENALTIES - CW Post 9/7:00; Bryant 3/1:30.

2007-03-03