Big Weekend for Bryant Bulldogs - Shock Syracuse in Lacrosse and More
Monday, May 12, 2014
It's not a stretch to say this was a history-making weekend for the Bryant Bulldogs.
The Bryant softball team won its first ever Northeast Conference championship with a 5-3 win over LIU-Brooklyn Saturday, and the baseball team followed up Sunday by winning their third straight regular-season conference crown in a 9-3 victory over Fairleigh-Dickinson University at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Smithfield, RI. Great stories and accomplishments, of course. But those stories might not have been the biggest news on campus.
In the first round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse tournament, the 16th-ranked Bryant Bulldogs were forced to go into the vaunted Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY Sunday to face the nationally 2nd-ranked Orange, and Bryant pulled off the shocker with a 10-9 victory over the long time lax powerhouse. Tucker James scored four goals for the Bulldogs, with the go-ahead goal coming with 7:52 remaining in the 4th period to break a 7-7 tie. James then scored his 4th goal of the game with 4:52 remaining (his 30th of the season) for a two-goal cushion to help seal the upset. Shane Morrell scored his 42nd goal of the season with just under three minutes left to put the Bulldogs back up by two after the Orange scored late. Bryant moves on to face 7th ranked Maryland next Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Lacrosse championship.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAdditionally, the Bulldogs' football program had its first-ever free agent signee in the National Football League, as senior wide receiver Jordan Harris signed a deal with the Indianapolis Colts Sunday. Harris set school records for catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions and became the Northeast Conference's all-time leading receiver. He is also the only player in school history to record back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons. Harris will report to the Colts' rookie mini camp next Thursday.
Bryant's NEC champion softball team will play 7th seeded Oklahoma in Norman, OK at 7:30 pm Friday night in the 1st round of the NCAA Softball Tournament. The baseball team closes out the regular season at home against Wagner Thursday through Saturday this week, and opens play in the NEC Tournament Thursday, May 22nd in Norwich, CT.
