February 6, 2026
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Men’s basketball head coach Kim English is known for his recruiting abilities, and this offseason, he performed well in both...
by Andrew Vines ’29 on November 20, 2025
If you were around AndersonStadium the night of Nov. 7 you wouldhave seen the stands packed for a bigFriday night matchup for the men’ssoccer team against the nationallyranked No. 11 Georgetown UniversityHoyas. This game was big in multipleways: the Friars were honoring alleight of their seniors and graduatestudents for Senior Day, and they hada chance to clinch a spot in the Big Easttournament the next week in Marylandwith a win and the possibility ofmaking it with a draw.
In a game to honor the seniors,a freshman stole the show. AfterGeorgetown took an early 2–0 lead,the Friars had their backs against thewall with the postseason on the line.Merely 26 seconds after the Hoyas’second goal, Angelo Ventrella ’29 cutthe Friars’ deficit to just one goal. Atthe half, the Friars trailed 2–1 anddesperately needed another goal. Thesecond half was a stalemate until the76th minute when Ventrella scoredhis second goal of the night on acorner kick from Pearse O’Brien’27. The crowd erupted, and theFriars secured a post-season berthfollowing the 2–2 draw.
How did Ventrella get to thispoint in his career? Ventrella is fromToronto, Canada. He is one of fourboys. Ventrella grew up playingfor ANB Futbol, a program that hewas a part of for 12 years. He wasone of Canada’s top 2006 prospectsbefore he committed to ProvidenceCollege in April of 2025. He has beenon trial with multiple French teams,including Paris FC and QRM. Duringhis time at QRM, he performed well,making multiple goal contributions.In 2025, he also played in the League1Ontario in Canada, a pro-am league.Ventrella competed in the premierdivision for Alliance United. Theyfinished No. 3 in the 11-team table.After a strong season, Ventrella wasnamed to the First Team All-Starsand was a finalist for the Young (U20)Player of the Year and for Midfielderof the Year.
Before attending ProvidenceCollege, Ventrella attended BillCrothers Secondary School. AtProvidence, he is majoring inbusiness management. On the fieldfor the Friars, Ventrella scored hisfirst goal in a non-conference winin a 3–1 victory at the University ofRhode Island. His minutes startedto pick up a couple of games intothe season, and he played in overhalf the minutes in Big East play,with his only full 90-minute, multi-goal game against Georgetown.Of his five goals this season, fourcame in conference play, scoringagainst DePaul University andXavier University, in addition toGeorgetown. After his performanceagainst the Hoyas, Ventrella wasnamed the Big East Player of theWeek and Big East Freshman of theWeek.
Ventrella has great technicalskills and brings a competitivespirit nature to the Friars, asdemonstrated by his two biggoals and the ensuing race to getthe ball back to half-field after thefirst and celebration following thesecond. He will play a big role atProvidence for years to come.