Quinnipiac scored the first and last goals of the game but the No. 19 Bryant Bulldogs were too much to handle, defeating the Bobcats, 9-5, on Senior Day at the Quinnipiac Lacrosse and Field Turf Saturday.

“It’s a work in progress and one thing I told the guys before the game the regular season is that the regular season is a test of your character, commitment and your sacrifice and all the things that you need to win a championship,” Quinnipiac head coach Eric Fekete said. “They can definitely score, and we’re going to have to give a better scoring effort next game.”

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Five different players scored for Quinnipiac (3-8, 2-1 Northeast Conference) but Bryant controlled most of the game. After hosting No. 19 Bryant the Bobcats will look to salvage a road win when they travel to Moon Township, Pa., to take on NEC rival Robert Morris next Saturday.

“I give our guys credit, they did a very good job of doing to us, what did to Mount St. Mary’s and what we have been trying to do to other people which is to keep the ball on offense as long as they can they seemed like they had the ball probably 70 percent for the first half,” Fekete said. “On a day like this, our defense got tired, and we made some bad choice shots. I think we got desperate when we had possessions and they out positioned us. “

Prior to the game Quinnipiac honored senior’ Adam Dahlgard, Andrew Federico, Grant Marston, Chris Messina and Chris Coppolecchia for their services over the last four seasons.

Michael Sagl led the Bobcats with three points, totaling one goal and two assists. Freshman Matt Diehl added two points including one goal and one assist. Basil Kostaras, Dylan Webster and Brendan Wilbur each added a goal.

Quinnipiac struck just 1:23 into the game as Brendan Wilbur netted the Bobcats first goal.
Bryant scored five consecutive goals over the next quarter and a half to take a 5-1 lead with about six minutes left.

Bryant’s (11-2, 3-0 NEC) defense played well limiting the Bobcats to five goals.

“We talk a lot about some of the philosophical parts of the game like managing time of possession and managing the tempo of the game and sometimes young guys get a little impatient when they feel like they’re getting choked out of playing offense, and Bryant holds the ball a lot,” Fekete said. “You make some bad choices sometimes.”

The Bobcats would fight back as Sagl and Webster scored consecutive goals to cut the deficit to two goals at 5-3. Webster’s goal was good for his 20th of the season.

Opening the second half, freshman Matt Diehl rocketed a shot past Bryant’s Jameson Love to cut the deficit to one goal. However, the Bulldogs answered with four straight goals going into the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 9-4. Kostaras would add a late goal with 12 seconds left in the game but it was the deficit was too much to overcome.

Bryant outshot Quinnipiac, 39-23, and had a 25-24 advantage in ground balls. The Bulldogs did lead the game in face-offs as top face-off man Kevin Massa led Bryant to a 12-6 advantage.

Freshman Dylan Torey made eight stops for the Bobcats, while Love denied six for Bryant. Coppolecchia forced seven turnovers in the game.