Men's Lacrosse Hosts Sacred Heart

LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Saturday's game will have a video stream and live stats available through friars.com.

SERIES BREAKDOWN - PROVIDENCE VS. SACRED HEART... The Friars trail the all-time series with the Pioneers, 3-4.

Last season the Friars fell to the Pioneers in overtime, 10-9. Five different Friars recorded two-point games. Tate Boyce (Matthews, N.C.) made 16 saves.

FRIARS WIN BIG AT ST. JOSEPH'S... Providence picked up a 14-5 road win on Feb. 23 at SJU. Matt Grillo (Setauket, N.Y.) posted seven points on three goals and four assists. Nick Hatzipetrakos (Syosset, N.Y.) added three goals and Tim Hinrichs (Amherst, N.H.) tallied one goal and three assists for four points. Tate Boyce notched a season-high 27 saves.

BOYCE NAMED TO TEWAARTON WATCH LIST... Boyce, a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection, was recently named to the Tewaaraton Watch List for the second-consecutive season (Feb. 28). The goalkeeper has already had a storied career in Friartown, including being named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and a USILA/Nike Third-Team All-American in 2017. For his career, Boyce holds a 9.27 goals against average, a .549 save percentage and has accumulated 578 total saves.

So far this season Boyce has a 7.37 goals against average and a .646 save percentage. He currently ranks third in the nation in save percentage, fifth in goals against average and 14th in saves per game (13.25).

HATZ TRICK... After being held scoreless on opening day against BU, Nick Hatzipetrakos has recorded 10 goals in the last three games. He posted four at Holy Cross, tacked on three at Bryant and scored three more at St. Joseph's. The senior has 59 goals and 22 assists in his career for 81 total points.

GRILLO GETS GOING... Freshman Matt Grillo has had a strong start to his rookie campaign, starting all four contests. He ranks first on the team in points (14), is tied for first in assists (seven) and is tied for second in goals (seven). He was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 25 after a seven-point performance at St. Joseph's.

KILLING OFF PENALTIES... Providence leads the BIG EAST in penalty-killing percentage, allowing just three goals on 14 attempts (.812). The Friars are also the only team in the league to record a man-down goal this season.

BATTLE AT BRYANT... The Friars dropped a road contest at Bryant, falling 11-8 on Feb. 16. Nick Hatzipetrakos led the offense with three goals. Ryan Nawrocki (Smithtown, N.Y.) had a five-point game, posting one goal and four assists. Providence outshot Bryant 37-30, but Bulldogs' goalkeeper Luke Caracciolo made 15 saves.

VICTORY AT HOLY CROSS... Providence notched its first victory of the season on Feb. 9, defeating Holy Cross by a score of 12-5. Nick Hatzipetrakos scored a season-high four goals. Freshman Matt Grillo added two goals and three assists for a team-high five points. Brendan Kearns (Wantagh, N.Y.) collected four total points on three goals and an assist. Boyce made 10 saves in net and allowed just five goals.

OPENING DAY AGAINST BU... The Friars fell to Boston University, 8-7, on Sunday, Feb. 3. Brendan Kearns and Ryan Nawrocki each had two points on one goal and one assist. Freshmen Jake Antonucci (Westwood, Mass.) and Matt Grillo each recorded their first-career goals in the game. Boyce made 10 saves in net, while Terriers' goalie Joe McSorely had a stand-out, 24-save performance. Providence held advantages in shots (48-38) and turnovers (12-23).

FRIARS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN BIG EAST POLL... Providence was picked to finish fifth in the 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll with a total of 10 points. Denver was picked to win the league, having collected four first-place votes and 25 points overall. Marquette (18 points) was picked to finish second and Georgetown (17 points), who received one first place vote, was picked third.

TWO FRIARS EARN PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST SPOTS... It was announced by the league on Wednesday, Jan. 23 that Providence College men's lacrosse players Tate Boyce and Alex George (Simsbury, Conn.) were named to the 2019 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Boyce, who has now been on the squad for three-consecutive seasons, was a unanimous selection.

2019 CAPTAINS.. Tate Boyce, Nick Crews (Longmeadow, Mass.), Brendan Kearns, and David Procopio (Syracuse, N.Y.) will serve as the team captains for the 2019 campaign. All four players are seniors and have made major contributions to the program during their careers as Friars.

WHERE KEARNS RANKS... Last year, senior Brendan Kearns became the 22nd player in program history to reach the 100-point mark. He currently has 74 goals and 44 assists for 118 total points. He is tied for 11th all-time in points and ranks 14th all-time in goals.

ROOKIES... The Friars welcomed 11 freshmen to the men's lacrosse program in the fall of 2018. Newcomers include Jake Antonucci (Westwood, Mass.), Will Ciccarelli (West Chester, Pa.), Matt Gould (Darien, Conn.), Matt Grillo (Setauket, N.Y.), Michael Harris (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Rainier Lee (Alexandria, Va.), Cam Martin (Westwood, Mass.), Ryan Mechler (Marlborough, Mass.), Luke O'Grady (Wayne, Pa.), Mike O'Grady (Milton, Mass.) and Will Thomas (Cohasset, Mass.).

SCOUTING SACRED HEART.. The Pioneers are 1-3 so far this season, most recently falling by one goal to Fairfield (12-11). SHU's lone win came on Feb. 16 against Furman (18-11).

So far this year, the Pioneers average 12.50 goals per game, while giving up 13.27. The team ranks third in the nation in caused turnovers per game (12.75) and fourth in ground balls per game (40.75).

PLAYERS TO WATCH... Redshirt senior Joe Saggese leads SHU in goals (12), assists (nine) and total points (21). He is averaging 5.25 points per game. Senior Max Tuttle and sophomore Logan Liljeberg are the other Pioneers in double-digit scoring. Tuttle has 10 goals and six assists for 16 points, while Liljeberg has six goals and five assists for 11 points.

Junior Brooks Dutton has played all four games in net. He holds a 13.27 goals against average and a .469 save percentage.

WHAT'S NEXT... The Friars play the next three games on the road, starting with March 9 at Harvard. Opening face-off is at 1:00 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jake Antonucci

Tate Boyce

Will Ciccarelli

Nick Crews

Alex George

Matt Gould

Matt Grillo

Michael Harris

Nick Hatzipetrakos

Tim Hinrichs

Brendan Kearns

Rainier Lee

Cam Martin

Ryan Mechler

Ryan Nawrocki

Luke O'Grady

Mike O'Grady

David Procopio

Will Thomas

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at RV/#19 Fairfield on March 1, 2025 , Loss , 7, to, 15

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Loyola (Md.) on March 8, 2025 , Win , 12, to, 11

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #6/#8 Duke on March 12, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 16

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #18/#19 Saint Joseph's on March 22, 2025 , Loss , 8, to, 16

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #17/#15 Georgetown on March 29, 2025 , Loss , 13, to, 14

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Villanova on April 5, 2025 , Loss , 8, to, 11

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Marquette on April 12, 2025 , Win , 14, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #16/#16 Denver on April 19, 2025 , Win , 10, to, 6

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus St. John's on April 25, 2025 , Win , 16, to, 10

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus No. 2 Villanova on May 1, 2025 , Loss , 14, to, 16

Providence College Athletics