Press Release

WOMEN'S LAX FALLS TO BRYANT  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION April 27, 2003                                                                         Contact: Angela Aja SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Freshman midfielder Maureen Burns (Derry, N.H.) broke a tie game with 1:54 left in the second half  to lead Bryant to a 9-8 win against Saint Michael’s Sunday at Bulldog Stadium. The win for Bryant, assures the Bulldogs of a tie for second place in the league standings, as Bryant moves to 7-2 in conference play to share second with Bentley. Saint Michael’s, at 6-2 in the conference, could forge a three-way tie for second if the Purple Knights defeat Merrimack in their final regular-season game Monday. If Saint Michael’s wins that game, a series of coin flips could determine whether Bryant, Bentley or Saint Michael’s would receive the No. 2 seed - and ensuing first-round bye - in the Northeast-10 tournament. Bryant got out to an early 3-1 lead Sunday as Elizabeth Blaisdell (Gorham, Maine) fed Cathy Sbarra (Bethpage, N.Y.) and  Sarah Neilson (Groton, Mass.) for back-to-back goals 35 seconds apart. But Saint Michael’s grabbed the lead with a four-goal run, capped by Liza Gregory’s (Essex, Vt.) goal with 5:34 left in the first half that gave the visitors a 5-3 lead. Blaisdell found Melissa Talamini (Mendon, Mass.) for a pair of goals in the final four-and-a-half minutes of the period, however, allowing Bryant to forge a 5-5 tie at the break. Saint Michael’s gained a 7-5 lead to start the second half when Kate Hallisey (West Roxbury, Mass.) converted a Kristen Palazzo (Armonk, N.Y.) feed, and Lauren Piekarski forced a turnover in Bryant’s defensive zone and scored off the ground ball to put the Purple Knights ahead by two. But Bryant tied the game by taking advantage of turnovers in the Purple Knight zone as Marissa Lawrence (Falmouth, Mass.) broke up a Saint Michael’s clear to break in alone and bring Bryant within one, and Dana Paquin (North Smithfield, R.I.) disrupted another clear and found Sbarra with 19:27 left to tie it a 7-7. Lawrence gave Bryant the lead when she raced in on a restart to make it 8-7, and the Bulldogs controlled the ball for most of the last 10 minutes, taking valuable time off the clock. But the Purple Knights took advantage of a Bryant turnover when Lauren Driscoll (Simsbury, Conn.) to start a fast break, and Piekarski finished it with her third goal of the game to make it 8-8 with 2:13 left. But the tie was short-lived as Blaisdell won the ensuing draw and got the ball to Talamini, who found Burns at the top of the crease. Burns ripped a shot past Purple Knight goalie Jess Anderson (Springfield, Vt.) to put Bryant back on top with 1:54 left. Lawrence got the ensuing draw for the Bulldogs, who maintained possession for the last 1:48 of play to run out the clock. Saint Michael’s got a hat trick from Piekarski, while Hallisey had two goals for the Purple Knights. Anderson had 15 saves for Saint Michael’s, which fell to 6-5 overall and 6-2 in the NE-10. SMC will play at Merrimack tomorrow at 3 p.m. SUMMARY Bryant 9, Saint Michael’s 8 (at Bulldog Stadium, Smithfield, R.I.) SAINT MICHAEL’S (6-5, 6-2 Northeast-10)            5    3    —    8 BRYANT (10-5, 7-2 Northeast-10)                         5    4    —    9 Goals: Saint Michael’s, Lauren Piekarski 3, Kate Hallisey 2, Kristen Palazzo, Lisa Gregory, Amanda Lohin; Bryant, Melissa Talamini 2, Cathy Sbarra 2, Marissa Lawrence 2, Elizabeth Blaisdell, Maureen Burns, Sarah Neilson. Assists: Saint Michael’s, Gregory, Palazzo, Margaret Shanahan; Bryant, Blaisdell 4, Burns, Talamini, Dana Paquin. Goalies: Saint Michael’s, Jess Anderson (60:00) 15 saves, 9 goals allowed; Bryant, Samantha Libby (60:00) 3 saves, 8 goals allowed. Shots: Saint Michael’s 16, Bryant 33 Ground Balls: Saint Michael’s 28, Bryant 41 Draw Controls: Saint Michael’s 8, Bryant 11 -       ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

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Last Revised: October 25, 2002