Excitement surrounds Bryant
There’s a lot of anticipation bubbling under the surface at Bryant.
The Bulldogs have joined Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Wagner to create the Northeast Conference. Although there is no automatic qualifier this season, Bryant is eligible for an at-large bid for the first time since the school joined Division I two years ago.
“It changes everything,” coach Mike Pressler said Tuesday of competing for a coveted spot in the tournament. “For the last two years we knew going in that our last day was our last day – regardless of how well we did. Whenever the last game was, our season was over. I think the excitement of playing Division I lacrosse against a high level of competition carried us through that two-year period, but now in year three, to have that carrot at the end of the line is very, very motivating for our coaches, for our players, for our university. To play for something at the end – and whether we get there or not, who knows – that is very, very invigorating.”
Pressler said he’s similarly enthusiastic about the team, which graduated just one starter from last year’s squad that went 12-5. Pressler agreed that this is his most talented group since he took over the program five years ago, but the most significant component is that the talent is spread throughout the roster.
“Right now, we have some outstanding players and we have them in numbers,” Pressler said. “That’s something we haven’t had. In the past two years, we couldn’t suffer an injury. We couldn’t suffer an illness. There was basically no depth after the starting 10. That is not the case anymore.”
Other notes:
*As mentioned before, the Bulldogs have to replace just one starter, but that starter, defenseman Mike Murnane, led the team in both groundballs (70) and caused turnovers (42) last season. Pressler is hopeful that sophomore Mason Poli can succed Murnane and join starters Joe Rauchut and Tim Clinton. “He’s very similar to Matt Murnane,” Pressler said of Poli. “Just great skills off the ground, intercepting passes, getting up the field, a very physical player. We’re counting on Mason to fill that void.”
*Pressler guided the U.S. men’s national team to a victory over Canada in the Federation of International Lacrosse world championship in July. How would capping that run with an NCAA title sound? “We’d just like to get to the tournament first,” Pressler said. “If we could pull that off in 2011, that would be quite an accomplishment. On the other hand, it’s going to be very, very difficult to get there. We’ve got a new league, it’s our third year of Division I, and we’re taking baby steps as we go. We were 10-5 in our first year, 12-5 last year. We’re pleased with our record, but we think it can be better. We’ve just got to keep that momentum going.”
