SMITHFIELD, R.I. – There was never a doubt.

Junior face-off specialist Zach Cole went 20-of-22 from the X to surpass 400 career face-off wins, senior midfielder Evan Campbell registered five points (3g, 2a) to lead nine Hawks in scoring, and senior goalkeeper Tucker Almany (6-0, 6-0 NEC) made a career-high 15 saves as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad dominated from start to finish in the Hawks' 13-5 road win over Bryant at Beirne Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 6-3 (6-0 NEC) and stand in sole possession of first place in the NEC.

"That was a well-earned victory over a very good lacrosse team," said head coach Taylor Wray following the win. "Every time you play the Bryant Bulldogs, you know you are going to be in for a really physical, highly-contested game. I thought our defense played terrific and executed the game plan well. The face-off game was highly-tilted in our favor, which stopped Bryant from making their traditional runs, and we made some plays in transition that allowed us to separate. Evan [Campbell] was terrific on both ends of the field today, Josh [Bosher] had his best game of the season, and Zach [Cole] returned to form at the face-off. There's a lot to be proud of from this game, and a lot to continue to improve upon."

"Today was an incredible showing of what our offense is capable of," said Campbell, who matched his single-game career-high points total with five on Saturday. "It started with how well our defense was today, and that gave our offense the confidence to operate at a high level."

"That was an awesome team win for us," added Cole, who earned a game-high 13 ground balls in the win. "Traveling up to Rhode Island and playing a tough Bryant team is never easy. It felt great to get possessions for my team, as that is the ultimate goal of the position. They battled really hard, and I am sure that we will see them again in the postseason."

How It Happened
• Bryant jumped out to a 2-1 edge midway through the first (7:34), but Saint Joseph's tore off on a 7-0 run that spanned the 6:51 mark of the first through the 7:54 mark of the third to take a commanding 8-2 lead after the first 37:06.

• Junior midfielder Tucker Brown (1Q, 6:51) and Campbell (1Q, 3:16) opened that run with unassisted scores before Campbell assisted on Brown's second of the quarter (1Q, :09) to give SJU a 4-2 advantage to close the first.

• SJU scored twice and held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second quarter; junior short stick defensive midfielder Cole Peters assisted on senior attackman Matt Tufano's goal (2Q, 14:44) before scoring his own at the 8:14 mark, assisted by junior attackman Ryan Doran, to push SJU's lead out by four goals, 6-2, at the halftime break.

• Campbell (3Q, 8:36) and sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer (3Q, 7:54; assisted by Tufano) closed the 7-0 run.

• Cole was perfect for the Hawks during that span, going a perfect 15-of-15 from the X through the 6:02 mark of the third quarter.

• Bryant then scored two of the game's next three goals to pull to within five, 9-4, heading into the final 4:30 of the third.

• However, the Hawks responded as sophomore defenseman Alex Keener scored his second of the year (3Q, 4:13) and Campbell completed his hat trick (4Q, 13:34) to put SJU back ahead by seven, 11-4.

• Following Bryant's fifth and final goal of the game (4Q, 11:55), Saint Joseph's fired off two more goals within nine seconds of one another as junior attackman Levi Anderson (4Q, 6:35) scored on the EMO from Campbell and Cole hit the back of the net (Q4, 6:24) to close SJU's offensive outburst.

Behind the Box Score
• Junior face-off specialist Zach Cole went 15-of-15 from the X to open the game. After missing back-to-back face-offs late in the third quarter, Cole went on to finish the game a perfect 5-of-5, all in the fourth. Entering the game with 399 career face-off wins, Cole now has 419 for his career; this total stands as the program record since at least 2004, with further research to be completed. Cole now owns 276 career ground balls, while SJU's all-time record is 296 (Corey Comen '00).
• Senior goalkeeper Tucker Almany was consistent across the board, making four saves each across the first three quarters and three saves in the fourth.
• SJU dominated the ground ball game, doubling up on Bryant in the category, 52-26. Aside from Cole's 13 ground balls from the X, the Hawks were led by junior attackman Ryan Doran (six), senior attackman Matt Tufano (four), and junior short stick defensive midfielder Adam Ritter (four).
• The Hawks converted 50 percent of their EMOs (2-of-4), with sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer converting late in the third and junior attackman Levi Anderson converting midway through the fourth.

Final Thoughts from Coach Wray
"Obviously, this is a year unlike any other; our guys know it, every team knows it and has been through it. I believe that the long lay-off for Bryant over the last two weeks had an impact on the game. Our guys know that if we see them again, we will see a much different team. We will enjoy this one for today and then move forward trying to find ways to get better for next week."