He took the call during the long bus ride home from Syracuse, where his team had upset previously undefeated Le Moyne, 5-4, for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament championship.

Mike Pressler stood, faced his players and raised his fist.

“We’re in!” he exclaimed.

The Bryant Bulldogs erupted. A few hours after winning their first conference lacrosse title, they began celebrating their first NCAA Division II Lacrosse Tournament invitation.

Pressler, who arrived at Bryant a year and a half ago to lead the Bulldogs to the promised land of a lacrosse championship, had succeeded in his second season. He sat back and savored their excitement.

“To have the year we had a year ago, to come back from a 3-3 start this year, to win our last 11 games, to tie Merrimack last week with 18 seconds left and win in overtime, to go up to Le Moyne and get a win, to get the word on the bus on the way back … ” Pressler’s voice trailed off.

What a journey he and his players have experienced. He arrived from Duke in August 2006, having resigned under pressure that spring in the wake of a sexual assault charge against three of his players and the cancellation of the balance of the season by Duke’s president, Richard Broadhead. The case followed him to Bryant, where he defended his former players while trying to shield his new team from media scrutiny. Last spring, the case having completely unraveled, the Duke players were declared innocent of all charges. Pressler was vindicated.

His 2007 Bulldogs played through those distractions and reached the NE-10 final, losing to Le Moyne. Earning a rematch appeared remote in March, when the Bulldogs were 3-3. Six freshmen were starting and experiencing growing pains.

Their 31-3 blowout of American International on March 26 launched the winning streak. They scored more than 10 goals in six consecutive victories and more than 20 in two games. The heart-stopper against Merrimack in the NE-10 semifinals gave them another shot at Le Moyne, the 14-0 regular-season champ, top-rated team in Division II and one of the best in the nation in any division.

Bryant was 0-4 against Le Moyne in title games and had lost to the Dolphins, 8-3, on March 21, the last loss before the current 11-game winning streak.

“It’s a hostile environment up there. It’s central New York, where it’s Syracuse lacrosse and Le Moyne lacrosse. They have TV cameras at the games,” said Pressler, a veteran of 16 seasons on the Duke lacrosse sidelines.

“Le Moyne is the best team in Division II, but the best team doesn’t always win the game,” he added.

Sunday, it didn’t. Bryant’s Matt McKeefrey scored three goals and freshman Gary Crowley two, Andrew Hennessey won 11 of 13 faceoffs, goalie Michael Kennedy made nine saves, and the Bulldogs rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the fourth quarter for their 14th victory, a school record, against three losses.

“It was wild at the end,” Pressler said. “They had an eight-yard shot with five seconds left, and Kennedy made the save and threw the ball down the field.”

Kennedy, the most outstanding player in the tournament, has been solid all year.

“He’s the reason we’re here,” Pressler said.

Bryant’s offense has been by committee.

“McKeefrey is our No. 3 attack man, and he had three goals and the game-winner,” the coach said.

McKeefrey is third in scoring behind Kevin Hoagland and Bryan Kaufman.

Bryant will have to beat Le Moyne again in Syracuse in the semifinals May 17 or May 18 to punch a ticket to the NCAA Division II Championships May 25 at Gillette Stadium. The Dolphins got the home-field advantage even though Bryant is ranked No. 1 in Division II. Pressler suspects it’s because Le Moyne has only one loss and beat C.W. Post, which beat Bryant. New York Tech (11-1) and Limestone (14-1) are the other semifinalists.

The Bulldogs are playing at a high level now and know if they can win again in that hostile environment, they will play their final Division II game for the national championship. They are moving up to Division I in the fall.

“That’s a big if,” Pressler said. “They don’t lose in their home stadium in front of their home fans. I’ve played in a lot of tough places in 26 years, and Le Moyne is one of the toughest.”

In Division I, Brown, which won 10 of its last 11 games and beat Princeton Saturday for a share of the Ivy League title, was not selected for the NCAA Tournament.

Rams rule again

Rack up another men’s track championship for the University of Rhode Island.

Coach John Copeland’s Rams won their seventh Atlantic 10 Conference outdoor title in the last eight years, and their 12th overall title in the last 15 track meets, Sunday at the University of Massachusetts. They finished with 224 points. Charlotte was second with 206 and La Salle third with 136.

Copeland is the A-10 coach of the year for the fifth time.

“I keep trying to find a new way to say it was great. I guess the smile on my face shows what it means,” he said of the championship. “Every one is a little different, and every one is so special. To see the kids celebrate is what it’s all about.”

This title was different because URI did not win a single track event. And special because the team stayed together under assistant coaches Todd Linder and Kyle Poland while Copeland recovered from a stroke in March.

“The coaches and the kids carried the ball for the month and a half I was out. Todd and Kyle did the job,” Copeland said.

Senior Ryan McCarthy did the job in the field events and was named the meet’s most outstanding field performer for the third time, an A-10 first. He defended his titles in the shot (52-3.25) and javelin (209-00) and finished second in the discus (153-05) and fifth in the hammer (173-05).

“He’ll be tough to replace,” Copeland said of his co-captain.

McCarthy arrived at URI as an average shot putter but worked hard to improve. He also worked on the discus and javelin and took up the hammer, which he never had thrown in high school.

“He has done a nice job,” Copeland said.

URI had four other champions in the field events. Yudehwheh Gbaa (Providence/Hope) defended his title in the triple jump (48-1.75), Sean Strizzi became the A-10’s first four-time pole vault champion (15-1), Michael Elliott took the high jump (6-06.25), and Derek Peterson won the discus (171-05).

And URI had depth. Shuuzabaio Kida and John Carstensen were second and third in the pole vault. Shawn Leonard finished second and Steven Lally fifth in the high jump and Tyler Adams (Newport/Rogers) fourth in the discus. Michael Bernardo (South Attleboro/Bishop Feehan) was second and Peterson fourth in the hammer. Gbaa was second and Michael Russell sixth in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump.

On the track, Michael Bland was second, Brendan Lamboy (Warwick/Veterans) sixth and Russell eighth in the 100. Alex Reid was hird, Gbaa fifth and Brian Alexander (North Kingstown) eighth in the 110 hurdles. Reid was fourth, David Kennedy sixth and Russell seventh in the 200. Kennedy was also second and Cameron Cormier sixth in the 400.

Alexander and Gbaa were sixth and eighth in the 400 hurdles and Nicholas Sanborn seventh in the 800. James Whelan was second, Manuel Richards fourth and Christopher Miczek seventh in the decathlon.

URI was second in the 4x100 relay and fourth in the 4x400.

The Rams will be running, jumping and throwing for their fifth consecutive New England Championship this weekend at the University of New Hampshire.

URI women second

Despite personal bests and conference records, the University of Island’s women tied for second at the Atlantic 10 Track and Field Championships. Charlotte won with 203 points. URI and Dayton each had 110.5.

Sarah Thornton was the meet’s outstanding field performer after winning the discus (153-08) for the fourth time, a conference first, and finishing second in the hammer and fifth in the shot put. Her winning throw in the discus came on her final attempt. She had fouled twice.

Jasmine Jennings (Warwick/Veterans) won the hammer (202-01), a URI and A-10 record. She shattered the record of 179-06 set by Michelle Fournier of URI in 1997. Thornton’s 198-06 was a personal best. Crystal Bourque (Coventry) was fourth. Jennings also finished third in the shot put.

TyLynn Graham (North Attleboro) won the high jump (5-05) and was fourth in the 100 hurdles.

N.E. softball regional

Rhode Island College is hosting the NCAA Division III New England Regional Softball Tournament this weekend. Play starts Thursday at the Dayna A. Bazar Complex.

The Anchorwomen (33-7) are ranked No. 1 in New England and seeded first in the tournament and have a first-round bye. They won the Little East Tournament Saturday with a 13-4 triumph over Keene State, their second over the Owls. They also beat Southern Maine and Eastern Connecticut. Krystal Bilek, 7-11 with two home runs and seven RBI, was the tournament’s outstanding player.

The rest of the regional field, all conference champions, includes second-seeded Tufts (28-9), of the NESCAC; third-seeded St. Joseph’s of Long Island (30-6), of the Skyline Conference; fourth-seeded Wellesley (27-9-1), of the NEWMAC; fifth-seeded Lesley (30-10) of the North Atlantic Conference; sixth-seeded Bridgewater State (26-15) of the MASCAC and seventh-seeded Rivier (25-11) of the GNAC.

Games are scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Four games are scheduled for Friday, three for Saturday and the championship game for Sunday. The format is double elimination.

RIC swept a doubleheader from Bridgewater State this season, beat Tufts twice in the regional last year and edged St. Joseph’s, 1-0, on a ninth-inning squeeze bunt in the 2006 regional.

Aboubakare honored

Brown freshman Bianca Aboubakare is the unanimous Ivy League rookie of the year in women’s tennis and a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection. She and partner Marisa Schonfeld were the only unanimous pick for first-team All-Ivy in doubles. Aboubakare is Brown’s first rookie of the year and first player of the year since Trisha Patel in 1997. She was 28-6 at No. 1 singles and 20-12 at No. 1 doubles.

PC’s Doetzel stars

Providence College’s Danette Doetzel won the 10,000 (33:27.64) at the Big East track championships and qualified for the NCAA Regionals. She is the fourth Friar to win that event and the first since Kim Smith in 2004. PC finished 14th.

The PC men finished 13th. Ahmed Haji ran third in the 5,000.

Big East softball tourney

The Providence College softball team (25-24-2, 8-12) will challenge top-seeded South Florida Thursday in the Big East Tournament in Louisville. USF swept a doubleheader from the Friars on Saturday, 5-4 and 5-1. Katelyn Revens (Warwick/Toll Gate) had three hits. She has started every game and is hitting .317 this season, second on the team behind Mary Rose Sheehy’s .360.

Enos pitcher of year

Bryant senior Janine Enos is the Northeast-10 pitcher of the year. She leads the league in wins (15) and earned-run average (1.22) and was also selected first-team All-NE-10. The Bulldogs (29-14) are the sixth seed for the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional and will play third-seeded Adelphi (40-19) Wednesday morning at 9 at C.W. Post.

RWU adding track

Roger Williams University is adding track and field to its varsity lineup, starting next fall. Sean Livingston, coach of the Hawks’ cross country teams, will run the track program, as well. Roger Williams will use the track at Mt. Hope High School in Bristol and help renovate the facility.

mszostak@projo.com