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The men’s lacrosse team of the Bryant University in Smithfield enters the next 26th season under the supervision of Brad Riss, the head coach of the team for recent three years. The season began on February 8 at Providence College. 

After a solid 9-5 season, where they achieved a 4-3 record in their second year in the America East Conference, the Bulldogs are ready to take on the new challenges ahead. The Black and Gold are happy to begin the next season in third place from the preseason coaches poll. It means that fans of lacrosse who plan to participate in online sports betting should consider this team for winning wagers!

Offense

As the Bulldogs move forward without their three top point scorers from last season, they will feature a combination of returning players and newcomers to drive their offense this year. Jack Lonsinger is back for the Black and Gold after a solid sophomore season, where he accumulated 36 points (27 goals, 9 assists). He will be assisted by Dawson Rielly, who earned a spot on the 2024 America East All-Rookie team, contributing 12 points (9 goals, 3 assists) in just 10 games. Additionally, Patrick Walsh made a strong debut for Bryant, scoring in the 2024 season opener at Providence and wrapping up his freshman campaign with nine points (7 goals, 2 assists).

Brian Russell, a senior transfer, is now part of the Black and Gold after spending three seasons at Merrimack. During his time with the Warriors, he played 39 games, scoring 65 points (51 goals and 14 assists) and collecting 37 ground balls. This fall, he was honored to be a captain in his team.

John Tomsheck had a notable season in 2024, having more activity with the Bulldogs as he played in 14 and started three games. He accumulated 12 points, scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists from 17 shots. This season’s highlight scored his first career hat trick in the game against Quinnipiac in February. Additionally, Tiernan Lathrop showed his skills when he scored in 3 next games against Fairfield, UMBC, and UMass Lowell. Cole Braun will also come back after a missed previous season caused by the injury. In 2023, he participated in 14 games and achieved four points, with 3 goals and 1 assist.

Richie Reid has joined Bryant following his freshman year at St. John’s. He participated in 15 games with the Red Storm, started seven games, and scored six goals from 30 shots, in addition to grabbing four ground balls. At the same time, Brett Callahan comes back to the Black and Gold as a graduate transfer after three seasons at Bucknell. In 2024, he participated in 6 games playing for the Bison and recorded 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist), together with 2 ground balls and an extra caused turnover.

Defense

This year, the Black and Gold will face the return of short-stick midfielders responsible for defense – Spencer Clark and Sam Klein. Klein took part in 7 games in the previous season and reached 4 ground balls and 4 caused turnovers. After being limited to just five games last year, Clark is eager to regain his form from 2023, the year when he made six ground balls and four caused turnovers. The team also welcomes Nick Vance, a transfer from Denison University, who had a remarkable career there. He played in 20 games last season, racking up 39 points (29 goals and 10 assists) and 36 ground balls. The SSDM lineup also includes AJ Monaco, Killian Lathrop, Austin Daigneault, Zack Bender and Anthony Moza.

Drew Lucas and Tanner Alexander will be key players in Bryant’s defense, having significantly contributed to the Black and Gold’s reputation as one of the league’s strongest defensive units. Two of them managed to achieve amazing 75 ground balls as well as 41 caused turnovers. Lucas is also honored as a preseason all-conference selection by America East.

The Bulldogs are set to return some experienced players, including Luke Mead and Ian Peck. In the previous season, Mead managed to collect 22 ground balls and resulted in 12 turnovers within 14 games. He played a crucial role in Bryant’s 10-7 win against Brown, scoring a goal that secured the Ocean State Cup. The defensive lineup will also include juniors Jack Barton, JT Werkmeister, Kyle Capodanno, Kijana Lloyd, Brayden Fuller, and Jack McCloskey.

Bryant return Gabe Chinitz at LSM, where he made an impact with eight ground balls and an assist in 10 games alongside a veteran squad. Freshmen Trevor Preston together with Gavin McCarthy will also become members of the team.

Goalie

This spring, Bryant will see Scott Einarson back in the cage following a fantastic rookie season. Einarson joined the game in the role of a starting goalie just 5 games from the beginning of the season and didn’t let anybody down. The native of Billerica, Mass., played in 10 games, finishing with an impressive 7-2 record (after leaving one game early). He made 105 saves and picked up 30 ground balls during his time on the field.

Einarson will have some solid teammates this season, including returning James Carr, who had three saves for Bryant in last year’s match against UMass Lowell. The Bulldogs are also excited to add graduate transfer Sage Garito, who spent four seasons at Franklin & Marshall College, where he recorded 150 saves in 2024. Freshman Will Murphy rounds out the group of goalies too.

Faceoff

The Bulldogs will acquire two fresh primary faces at X because of Nathan Laliberte and Jacob Alexander’s graduation. JJ Murphy, who had the most playing time among returning players last season for Bryant, participated in six games, winning 7 out of 17 faceoffs and collecting seven ground balls. Additionally, the Black and Gold will face a return of Sam Baker after he joined the team in the role of a walk-on in 2024. The faceoff unit will also feature Graham Tyson and Jordan Hernando.