Friars Tie for Top Spot in MAAC Tournament

At the outset of the season, the Providence College Men's Lacrosse Team had one goal in mind: to make it to their third consecutive NCAA tournament. They have played consistently all season and as they head into the MAAC Tournament this upcoming weekend, the Friars seem poised to repeat as Tournament champions and return to the NCAAs.

"We try to play the last game of the season as if it's the last game of our lives," said Providence Head Coach Chris Burdick on his team's strategy going into the single-elimination tournament.

Providence captured the first seed in the conference tourney by beating the only undefeated team in the MAAC: Canisius. The Griffs' perfect 6-0 record was blemished by an 11-5 loss to the Friars on Saturday, April 26. PC, who had a 6-1 record before faceoff, moved into a first place tie with Canisius. The Friars were awarded the top seed by virtue of the tie breaker.

"The regular season championship was important because it was up for grabs, but we couldn't win the conference tourney that day," Burdick said. "Our theme has been that we don't leave championships on the field; we take them home instead."

Providence jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never fell behind in the contest. Sophomore Jackson Fallon put Providence on the scoreboard with six minutes gone in the first quarter. Grad student Bennett Murphy was credited with the assist. Fallon's classmate Colin Tigh scored the only other goal of the first for PC with 1:05 on the clock. This time it was senior Devin McBride who assisted on the play.

Just a minute later, Canisius cut the PC lead to one, off the first of three Adam Jones goals on the day. The Griffs evened the score less than a minute into the second quarter when Justin Rychlicki netted a goal.

Junior Bobby Labadini put Providence back on top at 10:12 with an unassisted goal. Murphy closed out the first half scoring with 7:21 remaining on the clock, when he ripped a goal off of an assist from fellow grad student Henry Pynchon. Murphy finished the regular season with a team-high 21 goals after netting his second score of the day in the fourth quarter.

The third quarter was marked by a lot of offense at both ends of the field. Jones cut Providence's advantage to one with a goal at the 13:24 mark. Greg Michael assisted on the play.

Grad student Mark Dillon netted Providence's fifth goal at the 11:42 mark while Pynchon made the score 6-3 less than a minute later with an unassisted goal of his own.

Goals from Michael Benzinger and Jones finished off the Griffs' scoring before the end of the third, while Dillon and McBride added goals for Providence.

It was all PC in the fourth in regard to offense. Two goals from Labadini and a second from Murphy gave the Friars an 11-5 win. On Monday, April 28, Murphy was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week, as he scored five goals in two games against Canisius and Wagner.

Junior goalkeeper Robert Bryan paced the team on defense by playing all 60 minutes in goal and making eight saves.

"This season has been a learning experience," said Burdick about Bryan's first season starting in goal. "It's been tough moving from the bench to sparking the team in goal. He's worked hard and been vey serious."

In addition to praising his starting goalie, Burdick was quick to praise sophomore Frank Cicero, the team's backup keeper.

"You can't mention Bryan without mentioning Frank," said Burdick. "He's there if needed, if Rob's not sharp. They play as a unit."

This unit in goal has grown fairly successful as the season has progressed. Though the team got off to a slow start in dropping its first five matches, they have rebounded to a .500 record after beating the Griffs on Saturday. It was this strong finish that has secured the No. 1 seed for the Friars.

"We've been playing our tails off," Burdick said. "We didn't hold anything back. We've been producing a high level of lacrosse."

As a result of their efforts, the Friars' season will continue after its last regular season game. On Friday, May 2, the team will travel to Siena College-the tourney host-in Loudinville, N.Y., for a rematch with No. 4 Virginia Military Institute at 12:00 p.m. This marks the eighth straight year the Friars have qualified for the MAAC Tournament. They have won the past two tourneys and four altogether since 2003, while VMI is playing in the tournament for the first time in 2008.

The Friars beat the Keydets when the teams faced off on March 22 by a score of 12-5, but Burdick is making sure his team does not assume a win in the rematch.

"It's really important for our guys to realize that our opponent has grown and changed since we saw them," Burdick said. "We have to look at how they are on May 2 versus who they were on March 22. That was a one-goal game going into the fourth. Sometimes momentum takes over on the road, but we have to prepare to play a one-goal game."

In addition to bracing themselves to face an improved Keydet squad, the Friars have been working on their own skills in hopes of returning to the NCAAs.

"We're always trying to get better," Burdick said. "We're moving the ball off the dodge more. We have a lot available to our offense."

It's this offensive power coupled with strong play in goal from both Bryan and Cicero that could take the Friars into a rematch in the championship game with either Canisius or Manhattan-two more teams PC has already defeated this season-and a hopeful return to the Big Dance, if all goes well.