Tag: Women’s Soccer
PC Soccer Teams are Hopeful Contenders
by The Cowl Editor on August 30, 2018
Friar Sports
By Jack Belanger ’21
Sports Co-Editor
Last Fall, the Providence College Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams looked to build off their 2016 seasons in pursuit of Big East Championship wins.
Unfortunately, after finishing first in the Big East in 2016 and a run to the Elite Eight, PC’s men’s soccer team fell to fifth place in the conference finishing 5-8-5 overall in 2017, losing in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
While PC’s women’s team record did not drastically improve from 2016 to 2017, the team went from fifth to third place and made their way into the Big East Semifinals.
Both teams are in position for improvement, as the women’s team only lost four seniors, and the men still have several key players from the 2017 season.
Women’s Team
PC’s women’s soccer team has plenty to look forward to this season as four out of the top five point-scorers from last year return this season, including Hannah McNulty ’21 and Casey Estey ’19 who were tied for the team lead in goals with three.
Defenseman Katie Day ’19 and midfielder Kayla Steeves ’19 were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team. Last season, Day was named to the All-Big East First Team, while Steeves was named to the Second Team. Midfielder/forward Amber Birchwell ’21 was named to the All-Big East Freshmen Team as she was tied for third on the team in points.
PC’s goalkeeper, Shelby Hogan ’20RS was named the Big East Freshman of the Year last season, as she had seven shutouts last season and a 1.05 goals against average.
The team welcomes five new freshmen to the team, including Celina Falzarano ’22 and Hannah Morgan ’22, who play forward and defense respectively.
This season, the team will head down to Durham, North Carolina to play in the Duke Nike Classic, where they will play the University of North Carolina and Duke University.
The team is picked to finish fourth based on the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, receiving 55 points, though third place Marquette University garnered only four more points than PC.
Georgetown University is picked to be the favorite after winning the championship last season.
Men’s Team
After a season that was filled with injuries and performance inconsistencies, the PC men’s soccer team comes into 2018 with plenty of hope of success with players returning and 10 new players in a strong incoming freshman class.
The team looks to find its next goal scorer as 2017 top goal scorer Mac Steeves ’17RS graduated and was drafted by the Major League Soccer team, the Houston Dynamo. The Friars hope midfielder Danny Griffin ’20 and midfielder/forward Alex DaCosta ’20 can fill the void left by Steeves.
Joao Serrano ’20RS led the team in assists and was second in points in 2017 at the center midfielder. Serrano is a captain this year and is one of the team’s better ball distributors.
In goal, Colin Miller ’19RS returns for his third season as the team’s starting goalkeeper. Last season, Miller had a 1.08 goals against average along with five shutouts, earning Big East Goalkeeper of the Week twice.
Miller, the 2016 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, was voted as the Big East Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and was voted to the All-Big East Preseason Team along with Griffin.
Two freshmen to watch are Kevin Vang ’22 and Ramzi Qawasmy ’22, who play midfield and defense respectively.
Midfielder Simon Fisher ’21 is also a potential breakout player. Fisher had a strong spring season and looks to give the team quality minutes on the field.
The Friars have the pieces to compete this year if all of their players can stay healthy and they can find a number one scoring option.
Looking around the league, Georgetown looks to repeat as league champions, while Xavier University also returns with a strong team.
PC has their home opener on Friday, August 31 at 7 p.m. against Boston College.
Fall Sports Wrap-Up
by The Cowl Editor on November 16, 2017
Friar Sports
By Joe Myko ’19
Sports Staff
As the year creeps further into November, fall sports at Providence College are beginning to wrap-up. With the exception of volleyball, all the fall sports have ended. Now, before we fully turn our attention to hockey, basketball, and other winter sports, let’s take a look back on an exciting fall season for PC athletics.
Cross Country:
Providence College’s Cross Country Teams remain ranked in regional and national polls this year for their performances, with the most recent and potentially most notable event being October’s Big East Cross Country Championships, in which the men’s team finished fourth overall.
The team began the season in impressive form on Sept. 2, managing to successfully sweep the University of New Hampshire Dual Meet. The men’s team also came in first at the Nassaney Invitational on Sept. 9, with Tom O’Neill ’18 winning the race.
The women finished second, behind Brown, with Millie Paladino ’18 coming in first. The women’s team successfully finished second in the Big East Cross Country Championships, with graduate student Catarina Rocha ‘17G impressively picking up the individual title. The women’s team also deserves praise for winning Battle-in-Beantown on the Sept. 22 for the third season in a row, as well as accumulating their third straight NCAA Northeast regional title.
Soccer:
The Providence College Men’s Soccer Team was ranked first in the New England Journal Division and in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll this year, before they kicked off their season with a hard-fought loss againt the University of North Carolina on Aug. 25.
October’s game against Brown University was one of the most notable wins for the Friars, with Joao Serrano ’20 scoring the decisive golden goal in the 96th minute. On Nov. 8, former Friar Julian Gressel ’16 picked up the Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year award for his impressive performances for Atlanta United.
It was a successful season for goalkeeper Colin Miller ‘19RS, who has continued his good form from the last campaign where he earned the Big East goalkeeper of the year, with two consecutive Big East Goalkeeper of the Week awards.
The team was unfortunately knocked out of the Big East Tournament on Nov. 4, bested at the quarterfinal by Xavier University.
The Women’s Soccer Team secured Big East All-Tournament honors on Nov. 5, concluding a commendable season in which they made it to the semi-finals of the Big East competition, before losing 3-0 to Butler University on Nov. 2. Two Friars, Katie Day ’19 and Hannah McNulty ’21, were also picked for the All-Tournament team for their impressive performances through the season.
Field Hockey:
photo courtesy of Kara Sanford ’20
The field hockey team concluded an incredible season with a hard-fought loss in the Big East semi-finals, losing 3-0 to top-ranked University of Connecticut on Nov. 3. The Friars were very successful in the Big East field hockey post-season awards, which were released on Nov. 2, with four different players earning honors.
Defender Manon van Weezel ’21 picked up the Freshman of the Year award. She was also unanimously selected for the All-Big East First Team, alongside midfielder Megan Hamilton ’18. Defender Corinne Kenney ’19 and goalkeeper Megan Guilbert ’18 also deserve congratulations for accumulating All-Big East second team honors.
Volleyball:
Prior to the season commencing on Aug. 25, in a 3-0 win against University of Alabama Birmingham, the volleyball team was awarded team academic honors from American Volleyball Coaches Association for their 2016-17 season.
Providence College’s volleyball team then went on to sweep the Hatter Classic on Sept. 2, as well as the 13th Annual Friar Classic on Sept. 9. In terms of individual honors, McKenzie Lydon ’21 and Allison Barber ’21 both deserve praise for picking up Freshman of the Week awards in August and September, respectively.
Most recently, the team just dropped a match against Xavier University, losing three sets to one. The team will look to get back in the win column on Nov. 17 versus Georgetown University. The Friars will close out their season at Villanova University on Nov. 18.
Women’s Soccer: Tourney Bound
by The Cowl Editor on November 2, 2017
Friar Sports
By Eileen Flynn ’20
Sports Staff
The Providence College Women’s Soccer Team has o cially concluded their regular season play. The team nished with a solid record of 10-7-1, and 5-3-1 in the Big East. Throughout the season, the Friars clinched several big wins causing the team to stand out around campus and throughout the nation.
In the rst half of the season, the Friars remained undefeated over a ve game stretch from Sept. 7 through Sept. 23. On this run, PC claimed victories over Brown University (3- 1), University of Arkansas (4-3), St. Joseph’s University (3-0), University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2-0), and Villanova University (1-0).
On Oct.8, the Friars made the record books after out playing and out scoring a Big East rival. On Marquette University’s territory, the Friars beat the Golden Eagles for the first time ever in program history.
A week later, the Friars faced another tough Big East opponent. On Oct. 15, the Friars defeated then No. 15 Georgetown University in the last home game of the regular season. Christina Klaum ‘18 scored in the sixth minute of the first half for the Friars and was the lone scorer for the remaining 84 minutes. Goalkeeper Shelby Hogan ’20 played strong in net and held the No. 1 Big East team to a shutout. Hogan has seen over 1,600 minutes of action, posts a 0.96 goal-against average, and earned a 0.815 save percentage. This game marked Hogan’s shutouts at a high number of six games.
PC earned a No. 3 seed entering the Big East tournament. Georgetown University and Butler University are ranked first and second respectively and both received a first-round bye to the semi-final games. PC lined up to face the No. 6 seed, DePaul University, in the first round of the Big East Tournament. The two teams battled earlier in the season to a double-overtime draw (0-0) in Providence, Rhode Island on Oct. 19. DePaul then went on to beat Villanova (6-3) on Oct. 22 and St. John’s (1-0) on Oct. 26 and concluded their season.
The second match-up of the year marked the beginning of the Big East tournament. Both teams gathered at Chapey Field on Oct.29. The game followed a similar pattern of the previous encounter of the two teams, ending the first half tied 0-0. The Blue Demon’s goaltender stopped two shots while Hogan was only tested once. Both teams brought a new energy for the second half. Hannah McNulty’s ’21 header went just wide of the goal post. Alex Ben of DePaul also missed the net with two shots just over Hogan’s crossbar. In the 78th minute, Amber Birchwell ‘21 poked through DePaul’s defense and passed it over to teammate McNulty. McNulty’s shot hit the back of the net and put the Friars up 1-0.
With the game dwindling down, the Blue Demons did not let up. Off of a free kick, DePaul tied the game up with less than a minute left. The game spilled into two overtimes both ending in a stalemate. This forced the teams to finish the battle with penalty kicks. PC scored in the first two rounds. DePaul could get only one ball past Hogan in the third round. The Friars beat the Blue Demons with a 2-1 win in penalty kicks.
This win prolongs the season for the Friars and pushes them ahead to the Big East semi-final game against Butler on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at Butler University.
Women’s Soccer Kicks Off a New Season
by The Cowl Editor on September 15, 2017
Friar Sports
By Eileen Flynn ’20
Sports Staff
For the first time in Providence College Women’s Soccer history, the Lady Friars were scheduled to face the Razorbacks of the University of Arkansas on Sunday, September 10, 2017. Both teams stormed the field ready to meet their unfamiliar opponents.
The Razorbacks made their way cross country to Providence, Rhode Island with a winning record of 4-3. They have racked up wins against North Texas, Abilene Christian, James Madison, and Mississippi Valley State. The Razorbacks lost two overtime matches to Southern Methodist University and UConn. Their third loss was against No. 1 Penn State in a close (4-2) match-up. Arkansas’ team has been recognized in the South Eastern Conference with the second-most goals over a series of just seven games and fifth in the nation as of Sept. 8.
Providence’s Women’s Soccer team came off of a powerful win against Brown University on Thursday, September 7. Katie Day ’19 got her team rolling after she netted a penalty shot in the first half. The Friars continued to own the first half by scoring two more times. Hailee Duserick ’19 and Alessandra Arace ’20 are credited with the goals and pushing the Friars ahead to a three goal lead. Brown secured one goal in the final minutes. Shelby Hogan ’20 had six saves, helping the Friars beat their rival neighbors.
Back on their home turf, the Friars greeted the Arkansas Razorbacks. With a quick start, the Razorbacks pushed two goals past Hogan in the fifth and ninth minutes. Arkansas was controlling the game and leading in shots (12-5) and in corners (5-1). Hogan was seeing a lot of action and stopped six saves to Arkansas’ Harris’ two.
The first half concluded with a whistle and the teams separated for half time. Providence’s head coach Sam Lopes sparked the team during half time and supplied the Friars with a new-found energy. Kayla Steeves ’19 placed the ball ahead and after deflecting off of an Arkansas defender, mid-fielder Juliana Pellegrini ’18 kicked the ball into the net. Next, Steeves tied the game by scoring off of a penalty kick in the 36th minute of play.
Arkansas fought back and Stefani Doyle pushed her team ahead once more with a header goal. The Friars had around 40 minutes left to eliminate the one goal lead Arkansas had just secured. Freshman Ann McConnon ’21 picked a good time to score her first collegiate goal.
Around 80 minutes into the game McConnon’s rebound goal tied the Friars and the Razorbacks once more. Continuing with this momentum, Christina Klaum ’18 headed a kicked ball into the net. The fans, no longer sitting in the bleachers of Anderson Stadium, cheered for the Friars comeback win. The game ended and the Providence College’s Women’s Soccer team improved their record to 3-4-0.
The Friars will stay on home territory to face next competitor, St. Joseph’s, on Thursday September 14.