It is hard to imagine a better start to the year for the men’s lacrosse team, which continued its string of impressive play with a 17-8 drubbing of Hartford Wednesday.
Wednesday’s game “showed us that we are still improving, and all of our hard work in practice and our preparation is really paying off,” said Dylan Molloy ’17. “It was a great overall win, because it gave a lot of players a chance to contribute.”
The Bears (3-0), who are now officially ranked 20th in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches Poll, dominated the contest from start to finish. Once again, the team’s efforts were highlighted by Molloy, who put up six goals against Hartford (1-2) to bring his season total to 18. The star sophomore now leads the nation in goals per game, averaging six per contest. Brendan Caputo ’16 and Matt Graham ’16 also added to the mix, scoring three and two goals respectively.
As a team, Bruno now has the nation’s top offense, leading the NCAA with just over 17 goals per game on the young season. So far, it seems that the new high-tempo system has worked very well for the team.
“I think it says a lot about our new offensive coach, Sean Kirwan,” Molloy said. “He’s brought us alive with a new tempo of play and we are just running with it. Being the most prolific offense definitely gets us the respect that we deserve from our opponents going into games, since they have to try and tame us.”
On Wednesday afternoon, it did not take long for the Bears to take control of the game. By the end of the first period, Bruno had already taken command with a 6-1 lead and never looked back.
The Bears managed to outperform themselves in the second quarter, this time shutting out the Hawks and scoring another six goals.
Leading 12-1 at the half, Bruno extended its lead to 16-2 before letting some younger players get into the mix during the fourth quarter.
The offensive efforts were certainly attention-grabbing, but the team’s stout defensive play contributed just as much to the victory. Goalie Jack Kelly ’16 stopped eight of nine shots that came his way before he exited the game after the first half. Kelly now sits among the top five goalies in the country in save percentage, with a rate of 66 percent.
Alec Tulett ’17 also contributed on the defensive end with a team-high eight ground balls and showed some offensive prowess by scoring an unassisted goal.
The Bears will head back out on the road Saturday, traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan. The Wolverines (3-2) are sure to provide the toughest test Bruno has seen so far this year, and the team is looking forward to the challenge.
With a ranking to its name, Bruno will have to learn how to play with a bit of a target on its back, but Molloy is confident that it will not be a distraction.
“We’re not a team that really takes the rankings too seriously,” Molloy said. “We usually don’t get the attention we deserve.”
“We’re still going to work hard, play our game and focus on winning,” he added. “If we play fast and stay smart out on the field, we will be fine.”
