SMITHFIELD, R.I.  –  The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team was unable to hold on to a late lead at three-time Northeast Conference champion Bryant on Saturday as it dropped an 11-9 decision in its season opener. Senior Kevin O'Shea had a game-high five points as the Hawks fall to 0-1 on the young season. The Bulldogs grabbed their victory of the year as they opened up 2015 with losses to Colgate and Bucknell.

The Hawks led for three-plus quarters, until Bryant surged with seven unanswered scores, including six-straight to start the fourth quarter, to erase an 8-4 deficit and take a three-goal edge with 46 seconds left.

Tallying his 13th career hat trick while adding a pair of assists, O'Shea delivered all three of his goals within the first 16 minutes of action. His final goal of the contest came seven seconds into the second quarter, as he used a feed from Hartford faceoff man Dylan Protesto to break open a 4-4 tie. His first two goals of the game put the Hawks ahead, 4-1, before the Bulldogs closed out the first by rattling off three unanswered to force a tie before the first horn sounded.

O'Shea's early goal in the second quarter triggered what would be a half-ending stretch consisting of four-consecutive goals from the Hawks. Senior Ty Schuldt pushed Hartford's advantage to 6-4 just 51 seconds after O'Shea's go-ahead tally before classmate Adam Yee made it a three-goal lead 57 seconds before the halftime break. Schuldt would strike again with his second marker of the game as he put the finishing touches on a feed from Yee 65 seconds in to the third quarter to make it an 8-4 Hawks' advantage.

Bryant managed to grab one of those goals back as Shane Morrell ended his team's 19-plus minute scoring drought with an unassisted score at the 11:38 mark of the third. For the remainder of the quarter, the Hawks and Bulldogs both came up empty as the visiting squad carried a three-goal edge (8-5) in the final quarter.

That fourth quarter proved to be the decisive one, though. Five and a half minutes in, Bryant caught fire and rattled off six-straight goals to take its first lead of the afternoon. Ryan Sharpe's tally with 7:51 left came as the third goal of that stretch that knotted up the score at 8-all, before Tom Kennedy gave the home side its first lead of the game with a solo goal with 3:53 left on the clock. The duo went on to add two more tallies to the scoreboard over the next three minutes, with Kennedy's score giving Bryant an 11-8 edge with only 46 seconds left on the clock.

With 38 seconds to go, Hartford ended Bryant's scoring streak and cut into its lead as Brian Monks quickly scored on a pass from Protesto out of a faceoff win, but the Bull Dogs would win the final duel of the contest to secure the victory.

Making his college debut, Protesto won 13-of-23 faceoffs against 2014 All-American faceoff specialist Kevin Massa as the Hawks went 14-of-24 at the X overall. Hartford also saw the debut of Ryan Vanderford between the pipes. He finished with nine saves while Gunnar Waldt also had nine for Bryant. Tucker James and Sharpe each compiled hat tricks to lead the Bulldogs.

Hartford resumes action next Saturday when it opens up its seven-game home slate against Manhattan. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
Hartford led out of the gates and built a lead of 8-4 with 13:35 left before Bryant turned up the pressure offensively. Closing the gap to three with an unassisted score from Shane Morrell with 11:38 left to play in the third, the Bulldogs opened up the fourth by netting six more scores to take their first advantage of the game. Ryan Sharpe delivered the game-tying tally with 7:51 to go before Tom Kennedy put Bryant in front four minutes later. The duo each connected one more time over the next three minutes to provide a three-goal edge heading into the last 46 seconds .

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The Bulldogs held slight edges in shots (32-30) and shots on goal (20-18) while winning the ground ball battle, 31-25

·         Bryant killed both of its penalties and capitalized on 2-of-2 man-up opportunities

·         The Hawks enjoyed a dominant performance inside of the faceoff circle as it won 14-of-24 duels, paced by a 13-of-23 effort from Dylan Protesto in the rookies' college debut

·         Freshman Ryan Vanderford made 11 saves in his Hartford debut 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Also suffering a two-goal loss to Bryant in last year's meeting, Hartford slips to 0-2 in the series since the Bulldogs became a Division I program in 2007

·         Compiling a team-high five points, senior Kevin O'Shea compiled his 13th career hat trick

·         Junior defender Chris Duffy collected a team-high six ground balls, coming one shy of his career-best; Dylan Protesto also scooped up six ground balls

·         Freshman Brendan Gates scored his first career goal in the first quarter

·         In season openers, Hartford dips to 7-24 since becoming a Division I program for the 1985 season 

UP NEXT:.
The Hawks open up their seven-game, regular-season home slate next Saturday afternoon when they host the Manhattan Jaspers from the MAAC. The first faceoff of the 2015 campaign from Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.