Bryant University's offense runs through Bedford's Bell
Apr. 13—When the Bryant University women's lacrosse team scores a goal, there is a good chance that the play started with Chamberlaine Bell.
Bell, a junior attacker from Bedford, enjoyed playing up top while at Bedford High School but has found her perfect role at Bryant: quarterbacking the offense alongside Emily Oliver at the X position.
"Basically, the whole offense goes through her and Emily Oliver," said Bryant midfielder Lily Auger, a junior from Hampstead. "Everyone really has a lot of trust in her (Bell) and the goal is when we win the ball off the draw, get the ball down to X, get it to them and just trust what they're going to do with it."
Bell is tied for the 14th-most assists in the country this season (29) and three shy of tying her career-high mark she set last year as she prepares for a homecoming of sorts this weekend.
Bryant (6-5, 2-2), which has five players from New Hampshire on its roster, will play at the University of New Hampshire (3-7, 1-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in America East Conference action.
Bryant, which previously played in the Northeast Conference before joining the AEC this season, is tied for third in the seven-team league standings with three regular-season games remaining. UNH is in fifth place.
"I really love handling the ball," said Bell, who will have a number of friends and family in the crowd on Saturday, including her brother, Stoughton, who is a senior at UNH. "I really love setting up my teammates and obviously I love making those feeds."
Bryant coach Brianna Roche said the team runs a lot of its assist-based offense through the X position so Bell has the ball on her stick for most of each game.
"I think she's done a nice job of pushing tempo for our offense unsettled and also making some really good reads for us when we do settle the ball down and go seven (versus) seven," Roche said.
"(She) has a lot of responsibility in the offense and has done a really nice job of controlling the offense over the last few years and being able to be that go-to player when we need her to be in some really critical moments."
Bell, who has scored 11 goals this spring, said the Bulldogs like to play fast and push transition offensively. Oliver, a senior, and Bell look for cutters and, if they're not open, slow the pace down and work through Bryant's structured plays, Bell said. The Bulldogs, Bell said, also sometimes go into a freelance, motion offense.
Oliver (25 goals, 25 assists) is easy to work with, Bell said, because she can do whatever is needed on the field. Bell worked this past offseason on trying to become a more dynamic player like Oliver and said that Oliver has helped her become more deceptive and free-flowing when needed.
"It's been amazing working with Emily Oliver," Bell said. "She has been down there at X for a lot of her career, too, so it's been really, really fun building that chemistry with her."
Bell has also developed strong connections with other teammates like Auger and junior attacker Kenna Kaut.
Auger, a Pinkerton Academy graduate, and Bell played together starting around fifth grade through high school for the New Hampshire Tomahawks club program.
Roche said Kaut and Bell have connected in several high-pressure moments for Bryant. The first of those came when the attackers were freshmen. Bell assisted on Kaut's last-minute, game-winning goal in a 12-11 regular-season-finale win over Long Island University that clinched Bryant an NEC playoff berth in 2021.
At this point, Bell said she knows how Kaut, who leads the team in goals (46) and points (52), works off-ball and can tell when she's about to make a cut.
"I think in the fall even our freshman year just working together and just getting to know how each other plays, that was like the spark of when it all happened," Bell said of her chemistry with Kaut.
While Bell is one of Bryant's top facilitators, she also knows how to find the back of the net.
She ranks fourth on the team in goals and had a seven-game scoring streak earlier this season. During that streak, Bell recorded a season-high three goals alongside three assists when the Bulldogs last visited the Granite State: a 15-13 loss at Dartmouth College on March 1.
Whatever decision Bell makes with the ball, Auger said she and her fellow Bulldogs have confidence that it is the right one.
"Our whole team, including me, definitely has a lot of trust in her," Auger said. "She's a great player and a huge asset to our team this year and the past three seasons as well."
