Tag: Friar Sports
Ray Treacy Track Sees First Meet of the Season
by The Cowl Editor on April 19, 2018
Sports
By Jack Belanger ’21
Sports Co-Editor
Providence College held its only home track and field meet of the year as the Ray Treacy Track hosted the first day of the Ocean State Invitational. Fourteen teams came to Providence for the invitational. The first day included events such as the 800-meter, the mile, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and the 5,000-meters. Brown University hosted day two of the invitational where most of the events were held, including all of the field events.
The Friars had plenty of notable performances on both the men’s and women’s teams. Some of the Friars’ best performances occurred the first day on campus. In the men’s 5,000-meters, PC had two members finish in the top 10, as Marcus Karamanolis ’19 placed third and David Rosas ’21 finished seventh.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Ocean State Athletic Club’s and former Friar Jordan Mann ‘16G, who was an All-American in the event in 2016, came in first and set a facility record with 8:48.27. Liam Harris ’20 was able to grab second place in the event at 9:10.87. On the women’s side of the 3,000 meter steeplechase, Columbia University’s 2017 All-American Nell Crosby took first place in an event that only featured four runners.
PC had the most success on the first day in the women’s mile run. A trio of Friars consisting of Millie Paladino ’19, Catarina Rocha ’18G, and Abbey Wheeler ’20 were able to place in the top ten. Paladino took first place while Rocha, who won the Big East cross-country title in the fall, finished fourth and Wheeler finished eighth. Paladino and Rocha both broke the current facility record of 4:50.74, and Paladino set the new record with 4:40.07. On the men’s side Nick Carleo ’19 missed first place by less than two seconds to take second place and Mike O’Leary ’19 finished fifth.
On the second day at Brown, Jared Grossi ’20 finished fourth in the men’s 400-meter run, finishing at 50.86, which was six-tenths of a second slower than first place finisher David Cusack of University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Sprinter Daniel Rooney ’21 ran a close race in the 400-meter hurdles against Brown’s Bretram Rogers but ultimately finished second in the event, coming in .28 seconds behind.
While PC did not have many athletes compete in field events, Chris Shanahan ’21 finished fifth in the javelin throw out of 11 competitors.
The PC track and field teams will head to Worcester this Saturday for the Holy Cross Invitational and then will have a dual meet vs. Brown on College Hill. Next week, the team will head to Philadelphia for three days before going back to Brown for the Brown Invitational.
PC’s Jessica Looney’20 Looks to Compete in the Boston Marathon
by The Cowl Editor on April 12, 2018
Sports
By Meaghan Cahill ’20
Sports Co-Editor
After a mere 26.2 miles, Jessica Looney ’20 will become the youngest member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to complete the world famous Boston Marathon.
Running for both of her grandfathers, who each passed away from cancer, Looney decided to apply for the Dana-Farber team because it was “a good charity to give back to.” The team consists of a little over 500 people, and this year 50-75 new applicants were accepted.
The application process was very extensive, and once she made the team, Looney was faced with the challenge of having to raise the required amount of money to be on the team.
“There is the expectation to raise $10,000,” Looney said, which is double the required amount of raised donations. With that $10,000 price in mind, Looney decided to set the goal of reaching the minimum $5,000 before Christmas.
“Anything after that is a bonus,” she said. Her goal was met and to date, Looney has raised well over $8,000.
“I am so happy to be raising…much more [than the required $5,000].” Looney relentlessly pursued fundraising opportunities, choosing to send fliers to neighbors, family friends, etc. However, the main source of her fundraising came from the blog that she decided to create to put her marathon experience into words.
The blog, entitled “Why I Run,” is a way for Looney to publicly reach out to as many people as she can to receive donations, but also to memorialize her “milestone moments” in word form and track her progress and training experience, which officially began Jan. 1 of this year.
When asked why she decided to start training for the Boston Marathon, Looney admitted that it was “always something I wanted to do and the [Providence] half marathon really pushed me to want to go to that next step.” Looney then continued to say, “It had been on my mind since I got to college.”
Come the start of the new year, Looney wasted no time getting into her training, setting apart long distance days and short distance days. Her runs range from 10 to 18 miles.
Her longest run to date was when she completed the first 22 miles of the Boston Marathon, stopping just after grinding up Heartbreak Hill, which Looney boldly claims is “not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.”
“Your body is moving and you aren’t even thinking about it after a while,” Looney commented on the long distance of the course and the amount of time it takes to finish it. “Plus, after a while everything just goes numb,” she jokingly added.
With no prior running training, Looney turned to Andrew “Drew” Harrod ’19 for tips and assistance in how to prepare.
“He’s really helped a lot,” Looney said of her running companion, who is not running the Boston Marathon, but is planning on competing in the Providence Marathon.
Being a “student in training,” Looney does admit to missing out on a lot of things such as “going out on the weekends with my friends,” but she does not regret her choice to run the marathon.
“I’m probably gonna cry when I finish,” she admitted.
Turning more towards the actual race, Looney claims she is “feeling pretty confident” and that she has “no need to prepare any more [then she already has].”
“It’s been in my mind for six months and I can’t believe that it’s finally here,” she stated. And if there is one thing that she definitely wants to highlight about the past six months, and the biggest race of her life, it’s that to Looney, “It is all about the experience, the experience is the most important part,” and that she will “be happy to finish no matter what [time she gets].”
In terms of her final time, Looney admitted, “I’d be excited to break four hours.”
Having run every day since sophomore year of high school, Looney believes she is “not going to know what to do with herself” once she finishes the Boston Marathon.
“I am going abroad next spring and I would like to run some half marathons in different countries,” she admitted. Due to her being away next time the Boston Marathon comes around, Looney will be unable to run it, but she is determined she will “definitely run it again,” in the future.
Donations are still being accepted for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team. Those who wish to donate can go to Looney’s personal blog why-irun.com to make a donation.
Softball Plays Tough Against the Pirates
by The Cowl Editor on April 12, 2018
Sports
Two Friars Make Big East Honor Roll
By Thomas Zinzarella ’21
Sports Staff
This past week, while most of the student body was focused on the Masters Tournament, the Friars were taking the field for their series matchup with the Seton Hall University Pirates.
The Friars started their weekend series with a doubleheader on Friday, where they split both games with Seton Hall. The Friars took the first game 8-6, but the Pirates roared back to win the second with a score of 7-6. The Pirates would win the series with a 3-2 walk-off victory on Saturday.
In game one, the Friars offense was led by Julianne Rurka ’18, who was most recently named to the Big East Honor Roll for the week of March 25. During that week, she hit .250 while driving in four runs. In Friday’s victory, Rurka recorded a 3-3 day while scoring twice. Rurka, who has caught fire at the plate recently, was named All-Big East Second Team last year ranking fourth in the Big East in average (.388) and RBI (21) during conference play.
On the mound, the Friars received a solid outing from Christina Ramirez ’18. Ramirez, who has strung together a collection of strong performances, earned a spot on the Big East Honor Roll for the week of April second. Ramirez threw six and one-third innings, only allowing one earned run in a win on the road versus Creighton.
Against Seton Hall, Ramirez earned her fourth win of the year, throwing a complete game while allowing eight hits and striking out four. Ramirez is having her most dominant season to this point. She has a career-low ERA of 3.25 in 69 innings while also tallying six complete games and one shutout so far in the 2018 campaign. She is currently ranked ninth in the Big East in ERA.
Game two featured Miranda Trinidad ’20 on the mound. Trinidad was also named to the Big East Honor Roll during the week of March 25 for her dominant pitching performance against Georgetown University. Trinidad threw 11 innings and held a 1.27 ERA while only allowing six hits and two runs during the series. The sophomore threw a complete game against the Hoyas on March 24, only allowing one earned run on three hits. Trinidad owns the team’s lowest earned run average with a 3.07 ERA in 59 1/3 innings pitched while throwing six complete games and is currently eighth in the Big East in ERA.
The Friars offense had contributions from multiple players with Emma Lee ’19 going 3-4 with three runs, and Brittney Veler ’18 adding two hits while driving in a run and scoring. The Friars came up just short after taking the lead in the top of the seventh. The Pirates walked it off in the 7-6 victory in the bottom ladder of the seventh.
In the final game of the three-game series, Megan McCune ‘19 took the rubber. McCune was able to keep the Pirate hitters off balance by throwing five innings while only allowing two runs on four hits. Seton Hall scored two in the bottom half of the fifth but the Friars answered right back with Mackensie Compton ’20 hitting a two-run home run. The Pirates were able to squeeze by again with a walk-off single in the 3-2 victory for the Pirates.
The Friars finished the series with a 4-4 record in Big East Conference play and 7-21 in total. The Friars look to bounce back against Villanova University at home on Friday, April 13.
PC’s Erik Foley Goes Pro
by The Cowl Editor on April 12, 2018
Sports
By Sam Scalon ’19
Sports Staff
Twenty-seven seconds is all that stood in the way of the Providence College Men’s Ice Hockey Team getting a chance to top the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the NCAA Tournament East Region Finals on March 24. Unfortunately, the end of another successful Friars Hockey season came to a crashing halt as Notre Dame stunned the Friars with a late third period goal to win the game 2-1.
With the conclusion of the season, PC not only says goodbye to the five graduating seniors, including Friar superstar Brian Pinho ’18 and the lone graduate transfer Tommy Davis, but we also lose a top forward in Erik Foley ’19. Foley has decided to forego his senior season with the Friars and sign an entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues, but will report to the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of St. Louis, on an Amateur Tryout (ATO). Foley’s three year entry-level deal with the Blues will be in effect at the start of the 2018-19 NHL season.
Foley was originally selected to the Winnipeg Jets in the third round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, but his rights were shipped to St. Louis at this year’s trade deadline. Foley was a part of a package deal that included NHL veteran Paul Stasny and a handful of prospects and future draft picks.
The Mansfield, Massachusetts native and product of Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts spent a year in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the USHL prior to his freshman year at Providence College. Foley has excelled in his three years as a Friar, as he has posted 88 points on 38 goals and 50 assists in his 110 games played as a Friar.
Foley’s production increased each year, as he posted career highs in points (35), goals (16), and tying his 2017 mark in assists (19) this past season. His efforts were enough to lead the team in points and tie for the team high in goals with Kasper Björkqvist ’20. Foley has emerged as one of the nation’s most dangerous scoring threats, and his offensive presence is going to be missed at the forefront of the Friar’s lineup.
His production this season did not go unnoticed, as he was named the Hockey East Player of the Month in November and had 14 points during a seven-game point streak throughout the month. Foley was also named as a Hockey East First Team All-Star for this season, joining teammate Jacob Bryson ’20 and four Northeastern Huskies.
In his three years, Foley was no stranger to winning, as he plotted a 73-31-13 record. Also, Foley was a part of the historic USA IIHF World Junior Championships team in the 2017 Tournament who won the Gold Medal in dramatic fashion over Canada.
His big physical presence on the ice as well as scoring touch are going to be missed at Schneider Arena next season. Nonetheless, congratulations to Erik Foley on both a fantastic collegiate career and the start of a successful professional career.
Garden Bound!
by The Cowl Editor on March 15, 2018
Sports
PC Beats UMaine and Rolls into the Semis
by Jeremy Perrigo ’18
Sports Staff
The first two rounds of the Hockey East Tournament have come and gone in exciting fashion. Four teams remain heading into the final weekend of the competition at TD Garden on March 16 and 17.
Despite the fact that 12 of the first 15 games of the tournament were decided by only one goal, with six of those 12 games ending in overtime, there were relatively few upsets.
The only team to take down a higher seed was Merrimack College. The tenth seeded Warriors defeated the seventh place University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks in two overtime decisions, 2-1 in game one and 3-2 in game two.
The eighth seeded UMass Minutemen took on ninth seed University of Vermont in the only series of the first round that needed a third game to decide the victor. UMass decisively won the final matchup by a score of 5-1, moving on to face Northeastern University in the quarterfinals.
There was no lack of excitement in week two, as the top five teams jumped into action. First seed Boston College narrowly defeated Merrimack in two games, the first by a score of 1-0 and the second in overtime by a final score of 4-3.
Northeastern made quick work of UMass, winning both games by scores of 3-2 and 7-2. Senior forwards Dylan Sikura and Nolan Stevens combined for six of the Huskies’ 10 goals over the two games.
Providence played a tightly-contested series against the University of Maine Black Bears. Despite finding themselves down twice in game one, goals from Erik Foley ’19, Bailey Conger ’21, Scott Conway ’19, and Josh Wilkins ’20 propelled the Friars to victory. Wilkins scored with 3:10 left in the third period to give Providence their first lead of the night, one that would hold until the final buzzer. On night two, the Friars got up early with goals from Conway, Brandon Duhaime ’20, and Wilkins in the first period. The team never looked back, despite a two-goal push from the Black Bears, winning the game by a score of 3-2.
Fourth place Boston University faced off against Fifth seed University of Connecticut in a series that saw the Terriers squeeze out a 5-4 victory in overtime in game one, before winning game two in regulation by a score of 2-1.
Only the top four seeds remain heading into the final weekend of action, with BC taking on BU at 5 p.m. and Northeastern facing off against PC at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 16. The winners of each game will play in the championship game on Saturday, March 17 at 7 p.m.
Both of these matchups are expected to be closely-contested competitions, meaing fans will likely leave the TD Garden Friday night feeling they got their money’s worth. Boston College and Boston University have faced each other twice this season in back-to-back games on Dec. 1 and 2. BU took game one by a score of 7-4 while BC bounced back the night two to win 4-1. Keep an eye out for BU forward Brady Tkachuk (younger brother of current NHL player Matthew Tkachuk and son of former NHLer Keith Tkachuk) who has a goal and assist in the tournament.
Northeastern and PC also played back-to-back on Jan. 26 and 27. Game one ended in a 4-4 tie after an overtime session, while the Friars took game two, also in overtime, by a score of 2-1.
Northeastern forward Adam Gaudette led all of Division 1 with 59 points in 36 games for the Huskies this season, and has a goal and two assists in the tournament thus far. Look for him and teammate Sikura, who is two places behind Gaudette in points with 52, to be key contributors if their team has success in this game.
Regardless of which teams move on, due to the high level of competition between all of the four remaining schools, the championship game will not disappoint. There is particular interest if BU and Northeastern advance, as that would create a rematch from the Beanpot final, which Northeastern won by a score of 5-2. Look at this as the potential for the Terriers to exact revenge on their inter-city foe.
Scores from Spring Break
by The Cowl Editor on March 15, 2018
Sports
Lacrosse:
03/03/18
vs. Sacred Heart University: L, 10-9 (OT)
03/06/18
vs. University of
Massachusetts-Lowell:
L, 12-11
03/10/18
vs. Harvard University:
L, 11-8
Softball:
03/04/18
vs. San Jose State University: L, 4-2
vs. Pacific University:
L, 11-5
03/06/18
vs. California State University-
Northridge:
L, 5-0
vs. CSUN:
L, 10-0
03/08/18
vs. Loyola Marymount
University:
L, 4-1
vs. Florida Gulf Coast
University:
L, 3-2
03/09/18
vs. FGCU:
L, 2-1
03/10/18
vs. Harvard University:
L, 6-5
Tennis:
03/03/18
vs. Dayton University:
L, 7-0
03/06/18
vs. College of Charleston:
L, 7-0
03/10/18
vs. Harvard University:
L, 7-0
03/11/18
vs. Marist College:
L, 4-3
PCI: Providence College will Win the Hockey East Tourney
by The Cowl Editor on March 1, 2018
Sports
PC Geared for Another Deep Run
by Sam Scanlon ’19
Sports Staff
It’s tourney time! The Hockey East is one of the most exciting and competitive conferences in the NCAA and is home to names like Adam Gaudette of Northeastern, 2018 Olympian Jordan Greenway of Boston University and, of course Providence College’s very own Erik Foley ’19. This year’s Hockey East Tournament is shaping up to be a good one.
Boston College, the 2017-2018 Hockey East regular season champion, has been playing extremely well against conference opponents, as they have won their last five Hockey East matchups. The No. 2 seed the Northeastern Huskies, fresh off of their first Beanpot Tournament Championship in 30 years, are finding a way to win games, which is vital in this tournament. However, the No. 3 seed Providence College Friars have an excellent chance to win the Hockey East Tournament, and they are my pick to go all the way.
Led by Foley and captain Brian Pinho ’18, the Friars are unstoppable on offense. Despite suffering an uncharacteristic 1-0 loss last weekend to UMass Amherst, expect the high powered Friars offense to find the back of the net plenty of times throughout the tournament. Kasper Björkqvist ’20 and Josh Wilkins ’20 have more than contributed to the Friars’ offensive onslaught this season, posting 13 goals each. Jacob Bryson ’20 has complimented the top goal scorers all year long, especially on the power play, and has notched 20 assists. With the top lines scoring goals, the Friars’ offensive is difficult to stop, making them an early favorite to take down some of the dilapidated defenses across the league.
Defensively, the Friars have a young core, with two freshmen and two sophomores carrying the bulk of the weight, along with a junior and senior. However, Ben Mirageas ’21 has found his place in the Friars lineup. The smooth skating, sizable D-man has held his ground and helped the Friars defense keep pucks out of their net and limit opponents’ scoring opportunities.
A significant reason why the Friars are able to limit shots on net from opponents is Vincent Desharnais ’19. The 6’6” 224 lbs. defenseman is virtually impossible to get around and has been able to shut down opponent’s top scorers with ease. Defense wins championships, and with Bryson, Desharnais, and Mirageas on the blue line for the Friars, a Hockey East Tournament Championship is surely within reach.
However, the backbone of every good team lies in its goaltender. Hayden Hawkey ’19 has carried the Friars so far this year, and a tough goalie is imperative for making a deep playoff run. Hawkey, who posted four shut outs this year, is 2nd in goaltending in the Hockey East, so he has proven to be one of the league’s best coming into the tournament.
Offensive firepower, a shutdown defense, and a top goalie are keys for the Friars to take home the Hockey East Tournament trophy. Their run starts March 9 at Schneider Arena.
PC Competes at Big East Championship
by The Cowl Editor on March 1, 2018
Sports
Plenty of Highlights for PC Track and Field
by Thomas Zinzarella ’21
Sports Staff
Although the weather cooled down this past weekend, things were heating up at the Big East Indoor Track & Field Championship in Staten Island, New York. While neither the Providence College Men’s or Women’s Track and Field Teams came away with a trophy, there were many positives to be taken away from both teams.
With a relatively young men’s team, many freshmen got to experience their first Big East Championship. Michael Bittner ’21 felt “a little nervous warming up…it was a different feel from high school where you were the best and now there are guys who are better than you.” Bittner went on to have his best performance of the season with a fifth place finish in the men’s High Jump. Fellow Friar Trevor Crawley ’18 GS finished seventh in a highly contested Men’s 3,000-meter race and Michael O’Leary ’19 finished sixth in the one-mile event with a time of 4:11.97.
The high point of the day for the Friars was the 4×800 meter relay team featuring O’Leary, Nick Carleo ’19, Jack Carleo ’21 and Ryan Jendzejec ’21. The PC, Villanova University, and Georgetown University teams were all neck and neck until the final lap, when all three teams began to separate, leaving the Friars in third. The team featured the Carleo brothers, who have not been on the same team since they were both in high school. When asked how it felt to be reunited, Jack said, “It’s a good feeling being on the same team with Nick again because not many people get to run with a family member for this long, being on the same relay team with him again is awesome.”
The Friars look to continue their freshman surge into the springtime for the outdoor season, as Angus White ’21, Ryan Gallagher, Marcelo Rocha ’21, Henry Spangler ’21, and David Rosas ’21 rejoin for the spring season.
With talent carrying over from the indoor season, the sky is the limit for the next four years. Bittner and Carleo are hoping that the team can capture a Big East Championship and add to the storied history of the Track & Field Program at PC.
On the women’s side, the Friars were led from the top down by Millie Paladino ’18, who won the 3,000-meter with a time of 9:18.45. Paladino won the one-mile event last year and became the sixth woman to win both the 3,000-meter and the one mile event in Big East history.
The Friars would continue to shine in the 5,000-meter event as the Friars went 1-2 with Catarina Rocha ’18 GS leading the way with a time of 16:05.85, while Abbey Wheeler ’20 finished just behind her with a time of 16:07.39. Rocha netted her first Big East indoor title, and her third title overall.
The Friars also added a top three finish in the distance medley race with Paladino leading the charge once again. She teamed up with Mariah O’Gara ’20, Alexandra DeCicco ’20, and Maria Coffin ’21. The group was able to churn in a third-place finish in a heated battle with a time of 11:40.86.
Both squads look to try and build on the winter season and are preparing for their next event, the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships on March 2-3.
Villa-Game-Ova
by The Cowl Editor on February 16, 2018
Sports
Friars’ Win Creates Big Upset
by Sullivan Burgess ’20
Sports Staff
As the end of the season swiftly approaches, the Providence College Friars dominate the Big East Conference play, with a major win against the # 3 overall Villanova, with a final score of 76-71.
After suffering a heavy loss to DePaul last Saturday, 80-63, the Friars bounced back and came back better than ever beating Nova and securing a 8-5 record in the 2017-2018 Big East Standings behind Xavier, Villanova, and Creighton, and a 17-9 overall record in the NCAA.
While the season has been back and forth with significant wins and tough losses, the Friars hope to provide the burning energy and spirit needed as they head towards the Big East Tournament and hopefully an appearance in the March Madness Tournament. Some of these notable wins come from Big East play, including ranked rivals such as #5 Xavier, Creighton, Marquette, DePaul, and Butler when the team was on a four-game winning streak.
However, things took a turn for the worse when the team’s streak was snapped by back to back losses to Villanova and Seton Hall. The team found themselves back on pace with back to back wins against Marquette and Georgetown, but DePaul, as mentioned previously, came out swinging to hand the team their fifth loss. All hope was not lost as the Friars brought the win to Villanova and look to carry the momentum of this win into the end of the regular season.
In a game filled with jaw-dropping dunks, plays, and a court storming by the entire student section, the team now has something to celebrate. The Friars defense was able to stop Nova from shooting threes and allowed 19 turnovers that turned into some scoring opportunities. The offense was excellent as five Friars had double digits in scoring, including a leading 17 points from Kyron Cartwright ’18.
Head Coach Ed Cooley stated to the press after the game, “Honestly, the greatest win I’ve ever had at Providence College.”
The team will look to continue this spark for the last few games, including the last home game of the season against St. John’s. Despite a few losses on the way, the players have played consistently good basketball throughout Big East games. Rodney Bullock ’18 has been leading the team in both minutes and points this season with 31.9 minutes per game and 14.6 points per game, as he continues to find a rhythm both on and off the court.
Cartwright has also been leading in assists with six per game, noticeably becoming the difference maker on the team. With games coming down to the wire, Cartwright has been putting the team on his back to provide the leadership needed for this squad.
The Friars must face each team this year without forward Emmitt Holt ’18, who is redshirting this year due to injury. However, Holt has been back on campus this semester and has been practicing with the team. This not only provides an on-campus energy used on game day, it creates the opportunity for Holt to teach the younger players and allow them to be stronger in the paint from experience.
These younger players include Alpha Diallo ’20, Kalif Young ’20, and Nate Watson ’21, all of whom have improved their game, including great offense and stellar defense against the Big East’s best players. With minimal games remaining in the regular season, it is now or never for the Friars.
Soon they will be sent off to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, hopefully taking down Villanova and becoming the champions again, which will hopefully make things easier after their upset. For now, Friar fans must wait and enjoy the last few games of the season while continuing to bring the constant energy to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and help the team motivate each other to secure a spot in March Madness.
Friends of Friars Football Return
by The Cowl Editor on February 16, 2018
Sports
PC Football Alumni Gather for Annual Reception
by Jack Belanger ’21
Sports Co-editor
This past weekend, Providence College hosted its Alumni and Family Weekend and many former Friars made their way back to campus. While many met up at the events and games on campus, one group of friends found themselves at McCormick & Schmicks, a seafood restaurant in downtown Providence. This group of friends, or brothers if you asked any of the men in attendance, make up the Friends of Friar Football.
While Providence College has not had a club football team on campus since 1988, the Friends of Friar Football is comprised of former members of PC’s club football team, known as the Fighting Friars, which started in 1967 and was active up until its last season in 1988. From Paul McGuire ’70, the team’s first QB, to Tom Allen ’88, a member of the final team, and men nicknamed Spider, Weasel, Skunk, and Bear, the gathering gave men across multiple generations time to connect and reminisce about their playing days. The group had about 100 men in attendance and was over 200 active members who stay in contact with the club.
Geno Harding ’74 who has helped organize the gathering for the past 10 years, has acted as the organization’s historian, compiling old photos and memorabilia from the Fighting Friars days. Back when he was in school, Harding was one of the main organizers for the team as he was in charge of selling tickets and lining Hendricken Field on game days.
Even though the team was not an official varsity team, the former players will be quick to tell anyone they treated every game like they were in Division I. The team competed against schools such as Marist College, Assumption College, Westchester Community College, and Stony Brook University before many of these teams moved up to Division III. Multiple alumni said that they played for the love of the game.
In 1973, the team was given money to design new uniforms and many of the players could not have been happier with the outcome. Harding and Ted Fitzgerald ’75 worked together to create a new helmet logo for the team. With the Fighting Friars already sharing the same silver and black color scheme as the Oakland Raiders, the two went the extra mile and modeled the new logo after one of the National Football League’s most popular. Harding created the black shield with “Friars” sketched in. Then Fitzgerald sketched out a Friar head over a cross to complete the logo. Any of the men who played for PC are quick to say it was the best logo in all of college football.
One of the reoccurring stories during the reception was the tale of when PC played “the champs from the west,” Chapman University in California, in the 1979 Heritage Bowl in Providence. The day before the game the temperature was well above 50 degrees. Then all of a sudden, come gameday, the temperature dropped below 30° and the players from California experienced New England weather at its finest. One player recalled that the game was so windy that on one play where Chapman was punting, the football actually went backwards on the kick. The Friars ended up winning in a blowout 34-0, in what was one of the most memorable games in the club’s history.
Despite a 21-year gap between the first and last teams, the Friends of Friar Football has been able to bring men from different eras into one brotherhood. Gerry Marzilli ’72 described the Friends of Friar Football and the club team itself as “a special group…we paid to play football, we are lucky to be together this long.” Despite only consisting of alumni that attended Providence College over about 20-year span, The Friends of Friar Football is one of the largest PC alumni groups that are still active. The club manages to raise money through donations to give a scholarship to one PC student every year.
After a few hours discussing who was the fastest or who was the toughest player, the alumni made their way outside to take their yearly group photo on the front steps of City Hall. Afterwards, Marzilli presented games to former players Mike Lee ‘79, Steve Lamendola ’79, and Bob “The Bear” Peters ’78, to recognize them for creating the Friends of Friar Football group.
Even as years pass, the gathering has not lost any of its allure for any of the men. As each former player entered the restaurant, all of them were just as excited to see their former teammates as if they were getting ready for game day. Jim Murphy ’70 said that football at PC “has forged a friendship for over 50 years.” Murphy was one of the key contributors to starting the football club back in 1967 as he oversaw raising money for the team.
Even though most of the members of the varsity team are no longer around, the club takes time to remember the men who brought football to Providence College by looking back at the old photos and share the stories of the alumni. Harding shared one story of former player Hank Soar ’37, who played nine seasons in the NFL and then went onto become an umpire for Major League Baseball from 1950 until 1972.
While the PC club football team does not have the documented history of the University of Alabama or even Boston College, every player has his own stories to share and every team had its place in the school’s history that is just as important to the College. None of these men played with future glory in the back of their heads, but rather to play their hearts out for the game they cherished.
