THE BASICS:
 
GAME INFORMATION: Hartford Hawks (0-1) at Bryant Bulldogs (1-2)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Feb. 25 (3 p.m.)
LOCATION: Bulldog Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)
COVERAGE: Watch | Live Stats | Twitter: @HartfordMLAX
 
OPENING FACEOFF
The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday afternoon, trekking to Bryant for its first road game of the 2017 season. The Hawks and Bulldogs are slated for a 3 p.m. opening faceoff from Bulldog Stadium in Smithfield, R.I. The non-conference clash will be broadcast live through NEC Front Row.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Hawks and Bulldogs have met four times since 1985. Bryant has scored wins in each of the last three years to lead the series, 3-1.
 
SCOUTING BRYANT
The Bulldogs opened the season with a 17-10 victory against Manhattan, but have since dropped one-goal decisions to Bucknell (9-8) and, most recently, Providence (7-6), in its home opener last weekend. Tucker James and Cam Ziegler lead the Bulldogs' attack with 11 points each on the season, scoring seven and six goals, respectively. In goal, James Werner has recorded a 7.82 goals-against average and .574 save percentage. 
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Griffin Feiner and Dylan Jinks each netted hat tricks, but Hartford was unable to shake off Bryant's barrage of fourth-quarter goals as it fell, 16-11, in West Hartford last February. The Hawks never trailed by more than two in the contest until the Bulldogs opened the final quarter with a 4-0 run to break open what was a 9-8 score. Feiner finished the contest with five goals while James recorded eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) for Bryant.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford dropped its season opener, 12-5, against Boston University last Saturday on Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. The Hawks struggled offensively and couldn't find an answer for BU's Cal Dearth, who finished with five goals. Five different players accounted for Hartford's scores, with Feiner adding a pair of assists for three points.
 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return home for two games next week. Hartford begins the homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 28, hosting Manhattan at 3 p.m. Following Tuesday's tilt with the Jaspers, the Hawks take on Jacksonville on Saturday, March 4 (Noon).
 
FOR OPENERS
The Hawks dipped to 8-25 in season openers since 1985 – Hartford's first Division I season – after last weekend's defeat to BU.  Prior to last Saturday, the Hawks had won two of their last three games on opening day. That contest was just the third time in program history that Hartford began a new season at home, as the last two occurrences took place in 2013 (Maryland) and 1992 (Boston College).
 
APPROACHING THE CENTURY MARK
Henderson is just one point away from 100 on his career, as he enters Saturday with 43 goals and 56 assists. He is looking to become the 19th 100-point scorer in program history, and the first since Kevin O'Shea accomplished the feat in 2015.
 
DIFFERENT FACE IN GOAL
Senior Evan Quinn made his debut between the pipes for Hartford last Saturday against BU, replacing Ryan Vanderford, who is recovering from a preseason injury. Last year, Quinn logged 16 minutes as a reserve, making seven saves on 13 shots faced. Vanderford started in every game for the Hawks in 2016, registering a 10.09 goals-against average and .499 save percentage.
 
SCHEDULE NOTES
Nine of the Hawks' 14 games in 2017 will be played on Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium … four of Hartford's eight non-conference opponents posted winning seasons a year ago … UAlbany is currently tied for No. 13 in the USILA/Nike Coaches Poll, while three other opponents (Marist, BU, Vermont) are receiving votes in the poll … a rematch of last season's NCAA play-in game will take place on March 11, as the Hawks head to Quinnipiac.
 
PRESEASON POLL
The Hawks were picked to finish second in the America East in 2017, according to the conference's preseason coaches' poll. UAlbany was favored to win for the fifth-straight season, earning the top spot as a unanimous selection with six first-place votes (36 points). Hartford earned the final first-place tally and 28 points, while Vermont was a close third with 27 points. Stony Brook (23), UMBC (15), UMass Lowell (11) and Binghamton (7) rounded out the preseason poll.
 
PAIR OF PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Faceoff specialist Dylan Protesto and Henderson were each named Preseason Division I Men's Lacrosse All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse last month, earning Honorable Mention from the publication. Last season, Protesto, who was also named to the NEILA All-New England Preseason Second Team, became the sixth player in program history to receive All-America honors – and the first since Tim Fallon (Second Team) and Carter Bender (Honorable Mention) earned the distinction in 2011 – when he was named to the Division I USILA/Nike All-America Third Team as a sophomore. Henderson, who has been a scoring threat for the Hawks since his freshman year, recorded at least one point in 17 of 18 games as a junior to finish with a career-high 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists).
 
PROTESTING
Protesto had an impressive season inside of the faceoff circle as a sophomore in 2016. His .708 win percentage at the X shattered Hartford's previous program record of .622, set by Fallon in 2010. In addition, Protesto's 272 wins inside the faceoff circle were the most in a single season at Hartford, while his 415 career victories at the X are good for No. 2 in the career record books behind Fallon's 642.
 
THE NATION'S BEST
Protesto and Justin Huggins not only led the America East in a pair of statistical categories last season – they posted numbers that were the best across all of NCAA Division I. Protesto was virtually unstoppable inside of the faceoff circle, winning a nation-best 70.8 percent of his duels (272-for-384) to also help Hartford earn the NCAA Division I statistical crown in the category with a .692 team winning percentage at the X. Huggins proved himself as the most efficient shooter in all of NCAA Division I, scoring goals on 60.3 percent of his 58 shot attempts.
 
DEE-FENSE
The back line is projected to be just as solid in 2017 with the return of veterans Chris Duffy, an America East All-Conference Second Team pick last season, Kevin Sanna and goalie Ryan Vanderford. They were the backbone of a defense that held 10 opponents to 10 goals or fewer last season, as Hartford finished No. 3 in the league with a 10.5 goals-against average.
 
CAPTAINS OF THE SHIP
The men's lacrosse team chose four captains for the 2017 season. Alec Brown, Duffy, Henderson and Sanna will lead the Hawks as they look to repeat as America East champions. Duffy, a redshirt-senior, will captain the team for the third-straight season, while classmate Sanna is also a repeat team captain, previously earning the title in 2016.
 
CINDERELLA STORY
Hartford's run through the America East Championship for the program's second crown in 2016 was one for the record books. The Hawks made history, becoming the first No. 4 seed in America East history to win the conference championship and earn an NCAA Tournament berth. The feat was accomplished in dramatic fashion, as Hartford defeated UAlbany – the fourth-ranked team in the nation – in overtime in the semifinals before knocking off Vermont by one goal in the title game.
 
FIRST-YEAR SKIPPER
Despite his first-year status, head coach Ryan Martin is no stranger to Hartford men's lacrosse, as he helped pilot the Hawks to a historic run in last year's America East Championship. Brought on to Hartford's coaching staff as an offensive coordinator and goalie coach prior to the start of the 2015 season after a four-year stint as head coach at SUNY Oswego, Martin was elevated to head coach of the Hawks on June 2, 2016.
 
FOUR SCORE
Four players who recorded 40 or more points last season are back on the field for the Hawks in 2017. Jinks led the way with 58 points while Henderson, a senior, finished second on the team with 49. Also eclipsing the 40-point mark last season were Huggins (41 points) and Feiner (45), who were Hartford's leading goal-scorers a year ago with 35 and 33, respectively. Seventeen players contributed to the team's 195 goals last season, and all but one of those players will be returning this season, as Ty Schuldt (1 goal) graduated in 2016.
 
SHARPSHOOTER HUGGINS
Scoring goals on over 60 percent of the shots he took in 2016, Huggins, who finished his sophomore year with a career-high 41 points in 17 games, is the Hawks' top returning goal-scorer with 35 a year ago. The attackman will look to build off a sensational second half of the 2016 season that featured hat tricks in five of the final seven games of the campaign. During that stretch, Huggins combined for 20 goals.
 
GIVE ME DOUBLE DIGITS
Hartford's 11 wins last season were the most for the program since 2011, when the squad finished 11-6 overall. Since joining the Division I ranks 33 years ago, the Hawks have put up double-digit win totals four times, including a program-best 14 in 2000 (14-2 overall record).
 
FRESHMAN POINTERS
Last season, Jinks, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, put together one of the finest seasons for a rookie in program history. His 59 points in 2016 were the second-most recorded by a Hartford freshman. In addition, Jinks' 29 assists also ranked No. 2 among Hawks' rookies, while his 29 goals were the third-most. Kurt Jeskulski owns the title of Hartford's top-scoring rookie, tallying 61 points and 39 goals as a freshman in 1990.
 
GOT WINS? VANDERFORD DOES…
Vanderford has already etched his name throughout Hartford's record books in a plethora of categories. Posting 11 wins to tie the program's single-season record last season, he enters his junior season as the third-winningest goalie in program history, accumulating 18 wins in 33 appearances. In addition, Vanderford's 336 rejections between the pipes currently stand as the ninth-most in program history.
 
A HELPING HAND
Henderson has always been a key playmaker as a member of the Hawks' attacking line, and last season was no exception. Recording an assist in all but one game in 2016, he finished as the team's leader in the category with 33, a career-high, to rank third in the America East and No. 21 in the nation with 1.83 per game. The Ithaca, N.Y., native enters his final season at Hartford ranked No. 8 in program history with 56 career assists.
 
THE FEINER THINGS IN LIFE
Since arriving at Hartford on 2015, Feiner has proven himself to be a scoring threat for the Hawks. In 34 career games, he has totaled 56 goals – 1.6 per game – while accumulating 75 career points. Last season, the attacking midfielder set a career high with 45 points, third-most on the team, while his 33 goals ranked second on the squad.
 
NEW HAWKS
Martin announced the addition of nine student-athletes to the men's lacrosse team. The first-year head coach is creating depth in nearly every position for the 2017 season with the addition of attackman Joey Tesoriero (Dix Hills, N.Y), three midfielders (Chet Morgis/Mountain Lakes, N.J.; Dylan Speitel/Lititz, Pa.; Owen Trepeta/Locust Valley, N.Y.), a trio of defenders (Chris Colman/Wilmington, Del.; Nicolas Vazquez/Yorktown, N.Y.; Stefan Zandbergs/Woburn, Mass.), long-stick midfielder Ryan Lovell (Wakefield, Mass.) and goalie Henry Donnellan (Newton, Mass.).
 
IN GOOD COMPANY
America East has proven itself as one of the strongest men's lacrosse conferences in the nation over the last decade. Its teams have produced five NCAA wins, two NCAA at-large bids, 53 All-Americans and three Tewaaraton Trophy winners.