by The Cowl Editor on September 19, 2019
Friar Sports
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
The Providence College Men’s Soccer Team hosted the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University this past Saturday at Anderson Stadium. The Pioneers entered Saturday’s contest with a record of 1-3 and were coming off their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over Saint Peter’s University. The Friars, on the other hand, entered Saturday’s game with a record of 2-2, coming off a 2-1 loss at the University of Rhode Island.
PC wasted no time against SHU on Saturday afternoon, as Davis Smith ’21 headed a cross past the outstretched arms of the SHU goalkeeper and into the back of the net to make the score 1-0 in the sixth minute of the game.
PC did not stop there, as Andualem Chisholm ’22 chipped a goal past the keeper before halftime to extend the lead to 2-0. PC continued its success into the second half as Danny Griffin ’20 scored on a penalty kick to increase the home team’s lead to 3-0.
To cap things off for the Friars, Kevin Vang ’22 curled a left-footed shot past SHU’s goalkeeper to score his first career goal for PC in the 81st minute on a sharp assist by Matt DePerro ’21.
That was the last of the scoring for PC. The team beat SHU 4-0 to improve its record to 3-2.
The Friars looked to carry momentum from its victory over SHU into Monday’s contest against the Crimson of Harvard University.
The Crimson came into Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium on Monday with a record of 0-3, having previously lost to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and the University of Vermont.
Despite Harvard’s recent struggles, they put up a good fight against PC from the early stages of the game. The game started off back and forth between the two teams, with neither team dominating possession or even finding the back of the net.
The 0-0 score finally changed in the 21st minute of the match when Smith and Chisholm assisted Tiago Mendonca ‘20 RS, who unleashed a powerful one-time strike into the back of the net to give PC a 1-0 lead over Harvard.
From this point on, PC maintained a calm and collected play style and controlled possession while also making an effort to keep up its offensive attack. PC ended the game with a total of 27 shots compared to just five shots for the Crimson. PC also earned eight corner kicks compared to three for the Crimson. Even though the Friars controlled the majority of the game, the Crimson kept the game tight for the full 90 minutes thanks in part to goalkeeper Oskar Nilsson, who made six outstanding saves to keep his team within striking distance. However, Harvard was unable to break through and PC earned the 1-0 victory.
PC now looks ahead to Friday, when it opens Big East play at home against Seton Hall University at 7 p.m. at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium.