Men’s lacrosse drew a large crowd for their Rally Against Cancer game on Saturday, March 22 against No. 2 Bryant University. Bryant arrived energized off of a two-game win streak to meet Vermont, hungry for their next win.

The Catamounts, ranked No. 5 at the first faceoff, opened with a strong first quarter. They put four goals on the scoreboard and allowed only one for the Bulldogs.  

Bryant began to close the gap in the second quarter, closing the deficit to 6-5 with three minutes remaining. The Cats found their momentum again, widening their lead with three goals in three minutes. 

Sophomore goalie Ryan Daly kept Vermont’s 9-5 lead with six saves by halftime. 

Vermont’s zone defense held strong in the third, preventing the Bulldogs from finding scoring opportunities. A three-minute penalty against Bryant awarded Vermont a man-up advantage, helping the Cats put away two more goals. 

Later, an unassisted lefty goal from sophomore attackman Luke Reiter got the crowd on their feet with 5 minutes left in the third. Vermont’s offense maintained pressure on Bryant through the end of the third quarter, ending 14-9 in favor of the Cats. 

Eight seconds into the final quarter, sophomore attackman Max Frattaroli pulled a fake-out goal unassisted on man-up. Vermont held on tight to their lead the entire fourth quarter, maintaining a three to four point gap against the Bulldogs. 

In the final minutes of the game, the Cats held onto the ball and made sure to protect against any goals by Bryant, bringing the final score to 16-12. 

Throughout the matchup, sophomore Walter Zhao and junior Henry Dodge kept the Cats in possession by winning 20 out of 30 face-offs. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Jack Combs also picked up five ground balls, keeping the Cats in control. 

The game marks Vermont’s first conference win, bringing men’s lacrosse up to No. 4 in America East and breaking their three-game loss streak. Next week Vermont hit the road against No. 7 New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 29.