Men's Lacrosse Hosts Villanova For Senior Day

LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Live stats will also be available. Direct links can be found on the men's lacrosse schedule.

SERIES BREAKDOWN - PROVIDENCE VS. VILLANOVA... The Friars are 4-7 all-time against the Wildcats. Villanova edged Providence, 10-9, last season. Sean Leahey (Cranford, N.J.) and Evan McGreen led the offense. Leahey had five points (3G, 2A) and McGreen had three (1G, 2A). Tate Boyce (Matthews, N.C.) made 15 saves in the loss.

PLAYOFF PICTURE... There are seven possible BIG EAST playoff scenarios heading into the final weekend of the regular-season action. Providence could learn its BIG EAST Championship fate as early as Friday night. If Denver defeats Marquette, the Friars are assured a spot in the four-team field. However, if Marquette defeats Denver there are four possible play-off scenarios to be worked out and all regular-season results will impact the field.

LAST WEEKEND AT DENVER... Providence fell to #12/13 Denver on April 20 by a score of 14-8. Matt Grillo (Setauket, N.Y.) led the offense with two goals and an assist for three points. Bredan Kearns (Wantagh, N.Y.), Kevin McCordic (Medfield, Mass.) and Ryan Zimmerman (Syracuse, N.Y.) each tallied two points. Boyce made 18 saves in net. He has recorded 15+ saves in five games this season.

ENDING NON-CONFERENCE PLAY AGAINST BROWN... Providence closed non-conference play against Brown (April 16). The Bears picked up a 9-7 win behind 17 saves from their goaltender, Phil Goss. Grillo scored two goals and Kearns chipped in three points. Boyce made nine saves and Colin Keating (Ridgewood, N.J.) went 10-for-18 at the 'X.'

FRIARS WIN BIG AGAINST MARQUETTE... Providence took down Marquette (April 13) to improve to 2-1 in the league. The Friars jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, winning by an eventual score of 15-8. Matt Grillo led the offense with five goals. Brendan Kearns added three goals and two assists for five points. Colin Keating went 13-for-26 at the 'X' and Boyce made eight saves in Providence's first home victory of the season.

GRILLO'S ROOKIE CAMPAIGN... Freshman Matt Grillo has had an impressive rookie campaign, starting all 14 contests. He is third on the team in points (36) and second in goals (27). Four of his goals have been game winners, including the deciding goal against St. John's to open BIG EAST play. Grillo has scored at least one goal in 13 of the team's 14 games this season and has had nine multi-point performances. He was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career (April 15) after his five-goal performance against Marquette.

HATZIPETRAKOS LEADS THE OFFENSE... Nick Hatzipetrakos has a total of 35 goals and has had eight games with a hat trick or better this season. He was held off the scoresheet for just the second time all season at Denver (April 20). He's been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice this season (March 11, April 8).

Hatzipetrakos ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in goals per game (2.50) and 11th in points per game (2.93). He is first in the BIG EAST in shot percentage (.432).

LOCK DOWN DEFENSE... Providence ranks 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 9.93 goals per game. The Friars are second in the BIG EAST, behind Denver (9.08). Providence has allowed 10 goals or fewer in all six wins this season.

ONE GOAL GAMES... Five of Providence's 14 games this season have been decided by just one goal. The Friars are 2-3 in those contests.

BOYCE CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE CAREER... Boyce, a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection, was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List for the second-consecutive season on Feb. 28. More recently, he was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigous Senior CLASS Award (March 29). 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 9.57 goals against average, a .546 save percentage and has accumulated 702 total saves.

So far this season, Boyce has a 10.05 goals against average and a .562 save percentage, which is 10th in the nation. He's the BIG EAST leader in save percentage and saves per game, averaging 12.64. He has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week three times (Feb. 25, Mar. 19, Apr. 1).

WHERE BOYCE RANKS IN CAREER SAVES... Tate Boyce ranks first among active NCAA Division I goaltenders in career saves with 702. Matt Sefcik (Wagner) is second among active career leaders with 674. Boyce also ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I goaltenders in saves per game (11.32 spg).

JENNINGS STRONG ON D... Sophomore Emmett Jennings (Fair Haven, N.J.) has been strong defensively for the Friars, starting all 14 games. He has 20 caused turnovers and 29 ground balls this season. He ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game, with 1.43.

CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE 'X'... RJ Romeo (Wilton, Conn.) and Colin Keating have shared the face-off duties for the Friars this season. Keating is 87-for-173, while Romeo is 60-for-125. Keating is fifth in the BIG EAST (.503) in face-off win percentage. Keating has taken a majority of the draws over the last eight games, however three different Friars took face-offs at Denver.

KEARNS NEARS 100 GOALS... Last year, senior Brendan Kearns became the 22nd player in program history to reach the 100-point mark. He is currently nearing the 100-goal mark, as he has 91 goals and 58 assists for 149 total points. He is eighth all-time in points, sixth in goals and 11th in assists.

Kearns is tied for the team lead in points (41) and is third in goals (24). He's been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice this season (Feb. 11 and March 4).

FRIARS AT HOME... The Friars are 1-5 at home this season. Providence captured its first win on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium against Marquette on April 13 (15-8).

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.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA... No. 17/18 Villanova enters Saturday's game at 8-5 overall and 3-1 in BIG EAST play. The Wildcats handed Denver its first-ever BIG EAST regular-season loss (12-11) on April 6 and have also defeated Marquette (15-11) and St. John's (16-5) in league play. Another highlight of Villanova's season came back on Feb. 16, when the Wildcats beat then-No. 1 Yale in overtime (11-10). Villanova takes care of the ball, as they are ranked fifth nationally in turnovers per game (14.38) and sixth nationally in clearing percentage (.880). The Wildcats average 11.62 goals per game, while giving up 11.54.

PLAYERS TO WATCH... Midfielder Connor Kirst leads the team in points (43). He's fifth in the BIG EAST in points per game (3.31). Sophomore Corey McManus has a team-leading 30 goals, while classmate Keegan Khan has a team-best 24 assists. McManus ranks fifth in the league in goals per game (2.31) and Khan is second on the team in points with 41.

Dan Fisher (.525) and Zack Ornstein (.485) have shared face-off duties for Villanova. Fisher is 105-for-200 and Ornstein is 66-for-136. Fisher ranks third in the league in face-off win percentage. Senior TJ Comizio leads the Wildcats in ground balls (55) and caused turnovers (21). In net, freshman Will Vitton has seen the majority of time, starting 10 games. He holds an 11.00 goals against average and a .538 save percentage with a 7-4 record. He's played in all four BIG EAST games.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tate Boyce

Matt Grillo

Nick Hatzipetrakos

Emmett Jennings

Brendan Kearns

Colin Keating

Sean Leahey

Kevin McCordic

Evan McGreen

RJ Romeo

Ryan Zimmerman

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