Smithfield, R.I. - Freshman Brendan Caputo (Westbury, NY) scored on a pass from senior Alex Jones (Annapolis, MD) with 37 seconds remaining to lift Brown to an 8-7 non-league win over Bryant to capture the Ocean State Cup for the first time since 2010. Brown, who had previously beaten Providence College in an Ocean State Cup game, improves its record to 7-6 overall, while Bryant falls to 5-10 overall.
On the ensuing face-off following Caputo’s goal, Kevin Massa won his 15th face-off (on 18 attempts) for the Bulldogs, but Brown senior defenseman Sam Ford (Reisterstown, MD) quickly forced a turnover and picked up the ground ball to give Brown possession with 25 seconds remaining. Brown coach Lars Tiffany immediately called timeout, and the Bears ran out the remainder of the clock to claim the victory.
Caputo finished with two goals and two assists to lead the Bears, while senior George Sherman (Greenwich, CT) added two goals and an assist. Jones added two assists to go with his goal. The Bears out-shot the Bulldogs by a 34-29 margin.
Brown fell behind early, trailing 5-2 when Bryant’s Kyle Crowley scored with 13:43 left in the second quarter.
The Bears went on a 5-0 spurt, getting goals from Jones, Sherman and Caputo to tie the game at the half, 5-5, and third period scores from senior Johnny DePeters (Woodbury, CT) and freshman Bailey Tills (Denver, CO) with 5:01 left in the quarter to claim a 7-5 advantage.
Brown’s defense held Bryant scoreless for 28 minutes and 43 seconds, but back-to-back goals by Bulldogs sophomore Shane Morrell, the first with two seconds left in the third quarter and another with nine minutes remaining in the game, tied the score, 7-7. Morrell led the Bulldogs with three goals and an assist.
Tiffany made a strategic move at the half when he changed goalkeepers, replacing junior starter Will Round (Mt. Lebanon, PA) with freshman Jack Kelly (West Islip, NY). The first-year goalie made three quick saves to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard early in the third quarter and finished the game with five saves, while allowing just two goals.
Brown wraps-up its 2013 season on Saturday, April 27, traveling to Hanover, New Hampshire to battle Dartmouth. The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports, starting at 6 p.m.
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