Friars Drop First MAAC Game

When you play in a tough conference, even the weakest teams can surprise you on any given day. Going into its game against Marist College on Wednesday, April 16, Providence was a league-best 5-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, while the Red Foxes had yet to win a game in 2008-both in the league and outside the MAAC.

But there are no guaranteed wins in the best leagues and the Friars learned that they must play their best in every contest, regardless of their opponent's record, as what looked to be a relatively easy game for the Friars became a struggle in the second quarter.

The Friars scored the first quarter's lone goal with seven minutes left on the clock. Sophomore Jackson Fallon fed grad student Mark Dillon to get Providence on the board.

Marist came right back in the second with three goals of its own. All three points came within a minute of each other. First, Pat VanHall put his team on the board off an assist from Ryan Sharkey at the 14:17 mark. Matt Francis then put the Red Foxes ahead with a goal at 13:47.

Matt Teichmann stretched the lead to two off an assist from VanHall with 13:21 to play.

Senior Devin McBride cut PC's deficit to one with his goal a little more than six minutes before halftime. Grad student Bennett Murphy assisted on the play.

The Red Foxes stayed strong on offense and scored their fourth goal of the second quarter with 3:49 left on the clock. Pete O'Hara scored his first goal of the day off an assist from Teichmann.

Then with 2:02 to play before the break, Sharkey gave Marist a 5-2 lead-their biggest of the day-off a feed from Corey Zindel.

The Friars proved they were not about to concede the game in the third, as Murphy recorded his first goal of the day with 6:55 left in the quarter. Sophomore Colin Tigh earned his first point of the day with the assist, making the score 5-3. Marist continued the fight, putting up its sixth goal off the stick of Zindel with four minutes to go in the third.

The first eight minutes of the fourth quarter were scoreless for both teams. Then junior Bobby Labadini scored his first of two goals on the day with five minutes left in game, cutting the Red Foxes' advantage to 6-4.

Sharkey's second goal of the game put Marist up 7-4, matching their biggest lead of the game. The three-goal lead would not last, as Labadini gave PC its fifth goal, with just over a minute remaining. The Friars failed to score in the final minute of play, and lost 7-5.

The loss snapped the Friars' five-game win streak and blemished their previously perfect MAAC record. With the defeat, Providence falls to 5-1 in the league and 5-6 overall.

The team traveled to Philadelphia on Saturday, April 12, to face St. Joseph's University in search of its fifth straight win and the chance to bring its record to .500.

They managed to do both with a 5-4 victory over the Hawks. The win also kept the Friars undefeated in the competitive MAAC conference.

As has been the trend throughout the conference season, Providence jumped out to an early lead. Fallon got things started for PC in the first quarter with a goal at the 8:56 mark. Murphy was credited with the assist on the play.

Ninety seconds later, Dillon chipped in his 11th goal of season, second on the team only to Murphy.

Tigh notched the first of his two goals as time ran out in the first quarter, giving Providence a 3-0 lead after the first period.

The lead did not last, however, as the Hawks came out firing in the second. Three straight goals from Chris O'Neill, Steve Varga and Scott Cullinan tied the score at 3-3 halfway through the third quarter.

The Friars recaptured the lead off Murphy's 12th goal of the season with six minutes left on the clock in the third. McBride earned his second assist of the afternoon on the play.

Tigh's second goal at the 13:06 mark in the fourth quarter was the team's fifth and final score, but it was enough to secure the win. The Hawks would pull within one of the Friars with Andrew Mandela's goal, but that was all they could get past PC junior goalkeeper Robert Bryan.

After making 13 saves in the game, Bryan was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. He has achieved this honor three times in the last five weeks, an impressive feat for someone who is playing his first full season as a starter. Bryan was on the team in 2007 but did not start, as then-senior Peter Littell was the starting goalie.

In addition to keeping the Friars undefeated in the MAAC, the team's victory over St. Joe's clinched them a spot in the upcoming MAAC Tournament. The winner of the tourney will earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. As the defending MAAC Tourney Champions, the Friars have some high expectations to live up to.

They are presently in second place in the league behind only Canisius College, the team that the Friars will face in their last regular season contest leading up to the MAAC Tournament.

But before the team challenges Canisius for a chance at first place and the top seed in the conference tourney, they have two more matches this week to prepare for. On Saturday, April 19, the team will play its third straight road match, this one against crosstown rival Brown University.

Then on Wednesday, April 23, PC returns home to face Wagner. Faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m.