Men's Lacrosse Game Notes vs. No. 17/17 Georgetown

LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Providence's BIG EAST Semifinal game vs. No. 17/17 Georgetown on Thursday, May 2 will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at 4:30 p.m. (MT) / 6:30 p.m. (ET). Live stats will also be available via the men's lacrosse schedule on Friars.com.

SURVIVE AND ADVANCE... The winner of Thursday's semifinal between No. 3 Providence and No. 2 Georgetown will advance to the BIG EAST Championship Game on Saturday, May 4 to face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 1 Denver and No. 4 Villanova. Denver claimed the BIG EAST regular-season title, while Georgetown, Providence and Villanova each finished in a three-way tie for second.

SERIES BREAKDOWN - PROVIDENCE VS. GEORGETOWN... Thursday's semifinal featuring Providence and No. 17/17 Georgetown marks the first BIG EAST Tournament match-up between the two programs. The Friars are 2-10 all-time against the Hoyas. Earlier this season (April 6), Georgetown captured a 17-15 victory in Providence, R.I. Nick Hatzipetrakos (Syosset, N.Y.) had an offensive explosion for the Friars, recording eight points (5G, 3A). Tim Hinrichs (Amherst, N.H.) had four points on two goals and two assists. RJ Romeo (Wilton, Conn.) took a majority of the Friars' face-offs, going 17-for-30 (.567) from the 'X.' Tate Boyce (Matthews, N.C.) made 15 saves for Providence, while Own McElroy made 12 for the Hoyas.

Daniel Bucaro (six points) and Jake Carraway (five points) led Georgetown, offensively, against the Friars. Bucaro tallied four goals and Carraway had three.

FRIARS HISTORICALLY IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT... The Friars have qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament in three of the last four seasons. Providence holds a 1-2 record in BIG EAST Tournament games. The Friars fell to Denver in the semifinals in 2016 (17-8) in the program's first appearance at the tournament. Providence won its first BIG EAST post-season game against Villanova in the 2017 semifinal round (10-7) held at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. The Friars then fell to Marquette (10-9) in the Championship game. It marked Providence's first appearance in the title game.

BEST REGULAR SEASON FINISH... Although the Friars are the No. 3 seed in the tournament due to tie-breaking procedures, they finished the regular-season in a three-way tie for second place, with Georgetown and Villanova. It marks Providence's best regular-season finish since the league's inception in 2010.

OT THRILLER VS. VILLANOVA... Providence picked up its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2017 with a 9-8 overtime win against #17/18 Villanova on Saturday, April 27. The Friars had nine different players register points in the game, including Evan McGreen (Narragansett, R.I.), who had three points on one goal and two assists.

Nick Hatzipetrakos scored the game-tying goal at the buzzer in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Colin Keating (Ridgewood, N.J.) then won the opening face-off in OT and scored his first career goal just five seconds into the action. He went 11-for-19 from the 'X' in the game.

Boyce made 13 saves for the Friars and anchored a defense that held Villanova to single-digit goals for just the third time this season. The other teams to do so were Penn State and Maryland, who are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, in the USILA poll.

LAST TIME IN DENVER... Providence fell to then-No. 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. Brendan Kearns (Wantagh, N.Y.), Kevin McCordic (Medfield, Mass.) and Ryan Zimmerman (Syracuse, N.Y.) each tallied two points. Boyce made 18 saves in net. It marked his fifth 15+ save game of the season.

BOYCE AND KEARNS' FUTURES IN MLL... Brendan Kearns was drafted by the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse on March 9. He was selected 60th overall and during the draft's seventh round. He became the fifth player in program history to be drafted by an MLL organization.

On April 26, the Boston Cannons announced that they added Tate Boyce to the 2019 roster. He was one of the 24 players picked during the four rounds of the MLL Rookie Selection. Boyce will join former teammate Jimmy Cunningham '17 on the Cannons' roster, who was picked up by the Cannons in March.

HATZIPETRAKOS LEADS THE OFFENSE... Nick Hatzipetrakos has scored a single-season high of 37 goals and has recorded three-or-more goals in eight games. 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 (2.47) and 10th in points per game (2.87). He is first in the BIG EAST in shot percentage (.425).

Before this season, Hatzipetrakos had season-highs of 22 goals in 2017 and 2018 and 41 points in 2017. He currently ranks tied for 18th all-time in points (114) and 11th in goals (86) all-time at Providence.

LOCK DOWN DEFENSE... Providence ranks 12th among NCAA Division I programs in scoring defense, (9.80). The Friars rank second in the BIG EAST, behind Denver (9.00). Providence has allowed 10 goals or fewer in all seven wins this season.

ONE GOAL GAMES... Six of Providence's 15 games this season have been decided by just one goal. The Friars are 3-3 in those contests.

OVERTIME HEROICS... The Friars are 2-0 in overtime this season and both wins came against BIG EAST opponents. On March 30, Providence defeated St. John's, 8-7, in extra time. Most recently (April 27), the Friars topped #17/18 Villanova, 9-8, just five seconds into the overtime period.

BOYCE CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE CAREER... Boyce, who entered his senior campaign as a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection, was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List for the second-consecutive season on Feb. 28. Recently, he was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious 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-America in 2017. Boyce holds a 9.55 goals against average, a .547 save percentage through 63 career games and has accumulated a program-record 715 total saves.

In 2019, Boyce has a 9.91 goals against average and a .565 save percentage, which is 10th in the nation. He's the BIG EAST leader in save percentage and saves per game, averaging 12.67. He has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times (Feb. 25, Mar. 19, Apr. 1, Apr. 29).

WHERE BOYCE RANKS IN CAREER SAVES... Tate Boyce ranks first among active NCAA Division I goaltenders in career saves with 715. Matt Sefcik (Wagner) is second among active career leaders with 693. Boyce also ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I goaltenders in saves per game (11.35 spg).

GRILLO'S ROOKIE CAMPAIGN... Freshman Matt Grillo has had an impressive rookie campaign. 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 games 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.

JENNINGS STRONG ON D... Sophomore Emmett Jennings (Fair Haven, N.J.) has been strong defensively for the Friars, starting all 15 games. He has 22 caused turnovers and owns 30 ground balls this season. He ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game, with 1.47.

CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE 'X'... RJ Romeo and Colin Keating have shared the face-off duties for the Friars this season. Keating is 98-for-192, while Romeo is 60-for-125. Keating is fourth in the BIG EAST (.510) in face-off win percentage. Keating has taken a majority of the draws over the last nine games.

Keating was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week on April 29, after going 11-19 from the 'X' and scoring the game-winning goal in OT to defeat Villanova on April 27. It marked the first goal of his collegiate career with the Friars and came just five seconds into the extra session.

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 milestone, having tallied 92 goals and 59 assists for 151 total points. He is tied for sixth all-time in points, sixth in goals and 11th in assists.

Kearns is tied for the team lead in points (43) and is third in goals (25). He's been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice this season (Feb. 11 and March 4).

ROAD WARRIORS... Providence recorded five of its seven victories on the road this season, having posted a 5-3 mark away from Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. It marks the most wins for PC on the road since 2013 (five).

FRIARS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN BIG EAST POLL... Providence was picked to finish fifth in the 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll (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 GEORGETOWN... No. 17 Georgetown enters Thursday's game with an 11-4 overall record. The Hoyas are ranked in the top 10 nationally in seven different statistical categories, including a No. 1 ranking in turnovers per game (13.73), a No. 6 ranking in shot percentage (.335) and a No. 9 ranking in scoring offense (14.20). Georgetown is on a three-game win streak, including wins against Villanova (16-13) and St. John's (14-10). The Hoyas won three-straight league games after starting the BIG EAST slate, 0-2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH... Junior Jake Carraway leads Georgetown in assists (27) and points (75). He is tied with senior Daniel Bucaro for a team-lead in goals, with 48. Carraway leads the BIG EAST in assists per game (1.87) and Bucaro leads the league in goals per game (3.43). Bucaro's 3.43 goals per game is fourth-best in the nation. Bucaro and Carraway both average 5.07 points per game, which is seventh nationally.

Senior Lucas Wittenberg and Robert Clark are the other Hoyas over 40 points. Wittenberg has 45 points (20G, 25A) and Clark has 41 points (28G, 13A). Freshman FOGO James Reilly has a .510 winning percentage at the 'X' (fifth in the BIG EAST) and has grabbed 5.47 ground balls per game (second in the BIG EAST).

In net, sophomore Owen McElroy has started all 15 games. He ranks third in the BIG EAST in save percentage (.528), fourth in saves per game (11.27) and fifth in goals against average (11.34).

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Players Mentioned

Tate Boyce

Jimmy Cunningham

Matt Grillo

Nick Hatzipetrakos

Tim Hinrichs

Emmett Jennings

Brendan Kearns

Colin Keating

Kevin McCordic

Evan McGreen

RJ Romeo

Ryan Zimmerman