by O'Livia Lopes '26 on November 17, 2022
Sports Staff
Friar Sports
The Providence College women’s soccer team kicked off their 2022 season strong, shutting out Colgate University with a 1–0 win on home grounds. This was made possible by Ava Brandt ’23 scoring the lone goal of the game assisted by graduate student Elayna Grillakis. The Friars then underwent three consecutive losses from Boston University, No. 3 ranked Rutgers University, and Vanderbilt University. The Friars quickly redeemed themselves when they conquered Stony Brook University with a 4–2 win. In this match, four different Friars scored, including Meg Hughes ’26, Gillian Kenney ’25 and Angie Suaza ’25, as well as graduate student Hannah Pinkus ‘GR 23. The Friars left this game with a season high of 17 shots out of 32 on the goal. Shortly following this, they hosted a two-game homestand that resulted in a 1–1 tie against Boston College and a 0–2 loss to Monmouth University.
Then, in the highly anticipated match against cross-city rivals Brown University, the Friars unfortunately fell to the Brown Bears. However, these Friars know how to recover swiftly. Entering Big East play, they were able to trailblaze a solid start with a 1–0 victory against Seton Hall University, with the lone goal executed by graduate student Hannah Pinkus who scored off a pass from juniorfreshman Kyla Gallagher ‘246 in the 86th minute. As the season progressed, they dealt with two losses, one from Butler University 1–2 and one from Creighton University 0–2. From there, the Friars trained to verse DePaul University in their two-game homestand where they came out with a 2–1 win. The duo of this game, Gallagher and Kenney, were able to score the two goals, which were assists off of each other.
As the late season approached for the lady Friars with five games remaining, on Oct. 13 they tied to Marquette University where two first-year players scored, Ella Mcbride being one of them, who scored her first career goal. After traveling back from Marquette’s match, they had their Senior Day game on Oct. 16 against No. 17 ranked Georgetown University that ended in a 0–1 loss despite the great offense the Friars had put up in the second half following Georgetown’s one-goal lead.
This season has been a very eventful one, however, the Friars ended their last three games of the 2022 season in ties against Xavier University 0–0, UConn 0–0, and lastly Villanova University 1–1 where freshman forward Kyla Gallagher scored the last goal of the season within the first 30 seconds of the game.
Overall, the Providence College women’s soccer team encountered a handful of losses, ties, and wins. While they didn’t get to make an appearance in this year’s NCAA tournament, they set great records and were able to establish themselves as a new team with a whole new set of first years. Looking forward into the 2023 season, these ladies have what it takes to reclaim and advance their previous appearances in next year’s Big East championship.
The Providence College men’s soccer team faced an unfortunate 2–3 loss for their first game of the season. The Friars carried a 2–2 tie all into the second half until Colgate earned their third point by an own goal from the Friars. However, this season opener shed much light on returning players and newcomers. They had subsequently tied Fordham University 0-0, and were in desperate need for momentum heading into September.
When September settled in, the Friars started out with a 4–0 win against Siena College, and three friars were able to score their first goals of the 2022 season. These three players included Gevork Diarbian ’25 off an assist from Armaan Wilson ‘24, Brendan McSorley and Ramzi Qawamsy. Thomas Tulgar also scored his second goal of the season in the second half of this match. As the Friars hosted their three-game home-stand, they tied against URI 1–1. Brown University then traveled across the city of Providence to face the Friars in a high energy game that resulted in a close 0–1 loss. The Friars ended this homestand with a loud 1–0 win against the University of New Hampshire where graduate student Gil Santos ‘GR 23 took a bicycle kick from the center of the penalty box.
Providence College men’s soccer were entering the Big East, Villanova University lined up to be their first opponent on Sept. 17 where first-year Brian Lopez ‘26 scored his first official collegiate goal that tied the match 1–1. They then tied a match against Seton Hall University 2–2, where Christopher Roman ’23 andLuis Garcia ’24 both notched their first goals of the season. On Oct. 1, the Friars faced DePaul University, executing a solid 1–0 win where Qawamsy scored the game-winning goal. On Oct. 8 the Friars tied 3–3 to Marquette University where Ebsen Wolf ’23 scored his first goal of the season and Santos with a strike from the top of the box to make the third goal. A week later, the Friars faced Butler University where they came out on top with a 2–1 victory. Santos and Qawamsy both made their third goals of the season.
After two ties from St. John’s University and No. 19 Xavier University, their regular season finale celebrated the senior and graduate student players in a 4–2 win against Creighton University. Two first goals were made strong by Kevin Vang ‘GR 23 with his first notch and Armaan Wilson ‘24 with a notch in the 13th minute. Goals also came from shots made by McSorley and Gevork adding up to the Friars four points. With this game, the Friars qualified as the No. 5 seed for their first round in the Big East Tournament.
In the first round of the Big East Tournament, the Friars faced Butler University. The Friars had previously defeated Butler 2–1, yet this time around the Friars lost 0–3, ending their Big East tournament run. However, this team had an outstanding season, placing high in season rankings. It’s no surprise this team qualifies for the Big East Tournament year and year again. So, a comeback for the 2023 season sounds very promising for these Friars.