The Bison men’s lacrosse team proved its grit with an 11-10 win over Bryant on Feb. 14. The Orange and Blue defense proved to be the key difference in the game, holding Bryant to 10 goals between the four quarters.

The Bison led Bryant 10-5 through the first three quarters, but Bryant came out strong in the fourth quarter, adding five more goals to the scoreboard. Connor O’Hara’s ’18 lone goal with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter inevitably solidified the Bison’s win, and brought the score to 11-7.

The game remained close up until the final horn. Bryant came within a one-goal margin with about a minute remaining. Bryant won the final face-off, but the Bison defense held their ground and did not allow Bryant to get get a shot before time expired. The Bison finished the game with possession after defensive player Benny Borgognone ’18 stole away the ball in the final seconds. Goalkeeper Christian Klipstein ’19 tallied an impressive total of 10 saves for the Bison.

The Bison offense didn’t hold back either, scoring 10 of their 11 goals within the first three quarters. Will Sands ’18 and Kyle Shanahan ’16 both racked up two goals each by the fourth quarter. O’Hara scored one goal by the end of the third quarter in addition to his deciding goal in the fourth. Tommy O’Connor ’17, Sean Doyle ’16, Matt Gilray ’18, Thomas Flibotte ’16, and Sean O’Brien ’18 each accounted for one Bison goal. The Orange and Blue’s impressive performances led to them outshooting Bryant 36-32. Additionally, Doyle and O’Connor each recorded two assists. Gilray, who scored his goal 15 seconds into the game, also recorded one assist. The Bison dominated Bryant on the face-off, winning 13 of the 24.

“Our team did a great job dealing with the adversity of playing in an indoor complex. Our coaches did an unbelievable job preparing us for Bryant’s unnatural style of play. There is a lot to learn from the game so our team can get better and better each week. I am most proud of the energy that we played with. This is a special group of guys that love competing for one another,” Sands said.

The Bison men’s lacrosse team will be looking to advance its record to 3-0 for the season as they travel to Connecticut to face Fairfield on Feb. 20.