Providence College Athletics

Thursday, September 19
Austin, Texas
8:00 p.m.

Providence College

at

Texas

Durkee

Women’s Soccer Travels To Texas For Final Non-Conference Road Tilt

9/17/2019 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College women's soccer team will wrap-up its road non-conference schedule when the team faces off against the University of Texas on Thursday, Sept. 19. The game will be played in Austin, Texas in Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field at 8:00 p.m. (ET), and can be streamed on the Longhorn Network. The match will mark the first matchup between these two teams on the pitch in the history of the two programs. 
 
One-Goal Affairs… All seven of the Friars' matches this season have been decided by one goal or less, with one draw on their record. In the team's most recent match against Brown, the Bears scored the game-winner in the 30th minute to prevail 1-0. Shelby Hogan (Franklin, Mass.) tallied six saves on the afternoon while Providence outshot the opposition, 15-12. Alexis Rothmann (Norwell, Mass.) led the offensive push with four shots out of the midfield.
 
Road Battle… Providence battled to a 1-1 draw on the campus of Boston College on Thursday, Sept. 12. The Eagles gained the lead in the 56th minute after Gianna Mitchell finished a header in the box. The Friars answered with a header goal of their own in the 88th minute. Angie Suaza (Nashua, N.H.) lofted a free kick from the right corner that swept across the box, and Hannah McNulty (Warwick, R.I.) finished the header near post. The assist marked Suaza's first career point in a Friar uniform and McNulty's team-leading third goal of the season. Hogan recorded five saves on the night. The Eagles entered the match with a 6-0-0 record.
 
Return to Chapey… The Friars' last home matchup ended in a 1-0, golden-goal, victory over UMass Lowell. McNulty found the back of the net for her second goal of the season to lift the Friars to the victory. The game-winner was McNulty's first goal since the season opener against UConn. Providence returns to Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium, where they post a 3-1 record this season, on Sept. 22 against Northeastern.
 
Road Schedule Begins… The Friars traveled to Piscataway, N.J. to take on the Scarlet Knights before falling 1-0 in regulation. Possession remained equal throughout the match but Rutgers took the lead in the 62nd minute. The Scarlet Knights played a long ball into the box, and the ball deflected off Hogan's hands before Julia Aronov put it away in the six-yard box. Providence had a chance to equalize in the 87th minute off a corner kick, but was able to convert on three separate shots in the box.
 
Opening Homestand… The Friars went 8-1 last season on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. Providence posted a 3-1 record at The Chap to open the 2019 season. Providence opened with a 2-1 win over UConn on Aug. 22 when Hannah McNulty (Warwick, R.I.) picked up right where she left off, after tallying 10 goals and four assists last season. She put the Friars in front in the 38th minute after finishing a cross off the foot of Kelsie Cummings (Millbury, Mass.) just outside the six-yard box. Cummings' assist marked the first of her career in a Friar uniform after playing in 19 games last season.
 
Providence took a 2-0 lead into the half after junior Christina Rodgers (Scotch Plains, N.J.) converted a penalty kick in the 43rd minute for her third career goal and first since her freshman campaign. The BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, Shelby Hogan, prevented a late surge by the Huskies to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
 
The Friars bounced back after a 1-0 loss to UMass on Aug. 25 by defeating Hartford one minute into overtime on Aug. 29. Katelyn Vieira (Warwick, R.I.) drew a foul in the 18-yard box in the 91st minute, Elayna Grillakis (Lowell, Mass.) stepped up to take the penalty kick and converted for her first penalty kick goal of her career and second career goal overall.
 
Friars in 2018… The Friars finished with an 11-6-3 overall record and 4-3-2 mark in the BIG EAST Conference during the 2018 season. Providence finished tied for fourth in conference play and made a run to the BIG EAST Semifinal for the second-consecutive season. Since Sam Lopes was hired in 2014, the team has recorded a winning record in five-straight seasons.  
 
A program record five Friars earned All-BIG EAST recognition at the conclusion of the last season. Katie Day was the lone Friar on the All-BIG EAST First Team. It marked the second-consecutive season she was listed on the First Team and second player in program history to accomplish that feat. Shelby Hogan (Franklin, Mass.), Hannah McNulty (Warwick, R.I.), and Kayla Steeves (Needham, Mass.) were named to the Second Team while Hannah Morgan (Berwyn, Pa.) represented Providence on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
 
Friars Picked Third in the BIG EAST Coaches' Poll… The BIG EAST Conference announced its 2019 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday, Aug. 8. The Friars were picked to finish third among 10 BIG EAST schools behind Georgetown and Butler. Providence finished last season ranked 47th nationally in RPI.
 
Redshirt junior Shelby Hogan highlighted Providence in the BIG EAST Preseason Awards. She was named BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year as well as being named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. McNulty also earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team after a stellar sophomore season. Hogan posted 10 total shutouts in 2018 to tie the program record for a single season, ranking her 12th among all Division I goalkeepers. She finished the season with a 0.77 goals against average, while playing all 1877:39 minutes for the Friars in net.
 
McNulty and Amber Birchwell (Mastic, N.Y.), the focal point of the Friars' offense, return for their junior seasons. The duo combined to score 16 of the team's 26 goals a season ago. McNulty finished third in the BIG EAST in goals (10) and tied for second in the BIG EAST in game-winning goals (four) with Birchwell. Birchwell sent the Friars to the BIG EAST Semifinal after scoring the lone goal against St. John's in the team's 1-0 win in the BIG EAST Quarterfinal.
 
Newcomers… The Friars welcome six freshmen and four transfers to the 2019 squad. Incoming freshmen include Sam Murray (Medway, Mass.), Chloe Ortolano (Norwalk, Conn.), Alexis Rothmann (Norwell, Mass.), Angie Suaza (Nashua, N.H.), Lisa Verhoeven (Bunde, Netherlands) and Ava Brandt (Chester, N.J.). Katelyn Vieira (Warwick, R.I.) will use her last season of eligibility after transferring from UMass-Lowell, Kristen Parry (Acton, Mass.) joins Providence as a sophomore who began her career at South Carolina, Mara Rodriguez (Rochester, N.Y.) comes to Providence after one season at West Virginia and Jana Braun (Frittlingen, Germany) enters the 2019 season as a junior after two seasons at Gardner-Webb.
 
Series History Against Texas… Thursday will mark the first matchup between these two sides on the pitch.
 
Scouting the Longhorns… Texas enters Thursday's match with a 4-3 overall record with two non-conference matches remaining. In their last time out, the team fell to Monmouth University, 4-0 at home. Texas recorded back-to-back shutouts against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and Washington prior to the loss. Haley Berg and Julia Grosso lead the team with four goals apiece. Berg posts 12 points, as she has added four assists. Grosso trails Berg by one point with her four goals and three assists. Nicole Curry and Savannah Madden have shared time in net, Curry posts a 3-1 overall record compared to Madden's 1-2 record.
 
Up Next… The Friars will host Northeastern in the team's final non-conference match of the season on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 6:00 p.m. The game will be played on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium and will include a Scarf Giveaway for the first 50 students.
 
2019 Providence College Award Winners
 
Elayna Grillakis
- BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 2)
 
Shelby Hogan
- BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
- Preseason All-BIG EAST Team 
- BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 9)

Hannah McNulty
 - Preseason All-BIG EAST Team 

Christina Rodgers
- BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Aug. 26) 
 
-GO FRIARS!-
 
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