SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore
Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) recorded a team-high three points, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (2-10, 0-6 AE) fell to the Bryant Bulldogs (7-5, 4-2 AE), 11-7, in Saturday's regular season finale.
"Hats off to our guys for playing a really good lacrosse game," said Head Coach
Drew Kelleher. "Bryant is a great team with a long history, and we stood toe to toe with them. We need to build off how we have been playing going forward. Also, a huge thanks to our three seniors who provided us with leadership, maturity, and resilience throughout the year."
Burke, who finished with two goals and an assist, was one of six River Hawks to record a point in the contest. Junior
Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) finished the day with two goals, while junior
Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) and sophomores
Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.) and
Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) each scored once. Redshirt sophomore
James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) chipped in with an assist, while junior
Justin Alexander (Franklin, Mass.) had another strong day at the X, winning 12 faceoffs. In net, junior
Scott Kosakowski (Westport, Ct.) made 11 saves in the start.
The River Hawks caught fire to open the game, as Sumwalt scored just over a minute into the contest, putting his team in front early, 1-0. Moments later, the visitors doubled their lead when Donnelly dished out a pass to Burke, who fired his shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the day. Bryant, however, put a stop to the scoring run early, scoring three straight to own a 3-2 advantage through the first quarter.
In the second, UMass Lowell began to hit its stride offensively again, as Lafreniere capitalized in a man-up situation, rifling a shot past the opposing keeper to even the game at 3-3. Less than two minutes later, the River Hawks struck again, this time with Soi tallying his first goal of the afternoon, regaining the lead for his squad. Bryant locked in defensively, not allowing a goal for the remainder of the half, while their offense scored twice to jump back in front, 5-4, heading into halftime.
The visitors came out firing to open the second half, as Burke scored his second goal of the game early in the third quarter, and although the Bulldogs answered right back, Soi and Frigon went back-to-back with 7:16 and 4:32 on the clock, putting their team back in the driver's seat, 7-6, with less than five minutes to go in the quarter. The hosts refused to let the River Hawks pull away, scoring two goals before the clock hit zero to own a one-goal advantage heading into the final 15 minutes.
In the fourth, the River Hawks looked to even the score, but Bryant's defense stood strong, not allowing a goal the remainder of the way while adding three goals of their own, sealing the 11-7 final score.