Men's Lacrosse Takes On Brown In Ocean State Cup

FRIARS SHOOTING FOR OCEAN STATE CUP...

Providence College travels across Providence, R.I. to take on the Brown University Bears on Saturday, Feb. 29. Face-off is set for 3:30 p.m. at Stevenson-Pincince Field. This is the second of three straight road-games for the Friars. Providence will conclude its road-trip on Saturday, Mar. 7 at Sacred Heart.

This is the second game for the Friars in the Ocean State Cup. Providence defeated Bryant, 16-9 on Feb. 15. If the Friars defeat the Bears, Providence will become the 2020 Ocean State Cup Champions.

The last time the Friars won the Ocean State Cup was in 2018. Providence defeated Bryant, 13-8, and Brown, 12-11 in overtime.

LIVE STATS AND STREAM...

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The live stats will be on Brownbears.com.

SERIES BREAKDOWN...

Since 1980, the Friars and Bears have met 24 times. Brown holds a 23-1 series advantage over Providence.

Last season, the Bears defeated the Friars, 9-7 at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. Matt Grillo scored two goals in the loss. Brown claimed the 2019 Ocean State Cup after defeating Providence and Bryant.

GAME ONE IN THE OCEAN STATE CUP GOES TO THE FRIARS...

Providence defeated Bryant, 16-9, in the first of two games in the Ocean State Cup on Feb. 15. Providence never trailed in the win. The Friars had three players register five points. Matt Grillo tallied his third hat-trick of the season and added two assists. Sean Leahey recorded his eighth hat-trick of his career, first of the season and chipped in with two assists. Ryan Nawrocki pitched in with two goals and three assists. Goalie Toby Burgdorf had a career-high 15 saves in the victory and improved his career-record to 3-0.

SHARE THE WEALTH...

In the win over Bryant, Providence had nine different players find the back of the net. Ryan Nawrocki, Ryan Zimmerman and Luke O'Grady all recorded their first goals of the season against the Bulldogs.

BURGDORF REPEATED AS BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior goalie Toby Burgdorf was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the second-consecutive week on Feb. 17. Burgdorf had a career-high 15 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter against Bryant. He held a .625 save percentage and had one groundball.

Burgdorf earned his first-career BIG EAST accolade on Feb. 10 after he registered 13 saves and a .765 save percentage in the victory over Holy Cross. He also tallied one caused turnover and four groundballs versus the Crusaders.

RISE TO THE OCCASION...

Junior goalie Toby Burgdorf had large shoes to fill after replacing the graduating Tate Boyce. Boyce was a two-time All-American and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.

Burgdorf currently ranks first in the BIG EAST in save percentage (.636) and saves per game (12.25). Burgdorf's save percentage puts him fifth in the NCAA and his saves per game ranks 27th. Burgdorf is first in the conference and fourth in the nation in goals-against average (7.00).

FIRST 3-0 START SINCE 2013...

The Friars 3-0 start is the best start to the season since 2013 where Providence began the season 5-0 under Coach Gabrielli in his first season.

GRILL-O IS COOKIN'...

Matt Grillo has recorded three hat-tricks in four games this season. Grillo leads the Friars in goals (12) and points (15). The sophomore ranks seventh in points per game (3.75) and fourth in goals per game (3.00) in the BIG EAST.

HUNGRY, HUNGRY, HOFFMAN

John Hoffman was the lone freshman in the starting line-up. The high school U.S. Lacrosse All-America selection ranks tied for third on the team in goals (six) and fifth in points (seven).

GRILLO, BURGDORF POWER FRIARS PAST HOLY CROSS

Providence defeated Holy Cross, 6-4 in their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 8. Grillo paced the Friars with five-goals and Burgdorf had 13 saves and a career-high .765 save percentage. The Friars led wire-to-wire over the Crusaders. Holy Cross pulled it within one with 5:19 remaining in the fourth quarter after scoring three unanswered in the second half. Grillo notched an insurance goal for the Friars with 24 seconds remaining to secure the victory for the Friars.

GRILLO NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Sophomore Matt Grillo was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 10. Grillo scored five of the six Friar goals versus Holy Cross. Grillo has recorded a hat-trick in all three games this season. He leads the Friars in goals (eight) and points (nine).

JENNINGS, STOVEL, AND TOMMASI ANCHOR THE DEFENSE...

The Providence defense led by Emmett Jennings, Rob Stovel and Nick Tommasi currently ranks fourth in scoring defense (7.00) and fifth in man-down defense (0.917) in the country.

Jennings ranks first in the BIG EAST and sixth in the country in caused turnovers per game (2.50).

The Friar victories over Boston University and Holy Cross were the first time since 2009 that the Friars have held their opponents to five or fewer goals in back-to-back games. During that season, the Friars defeated Canisius, 5-4 and St. Joseph's, 5-4 (4OT). The four goals let up against Holy Cross marked the fewest goals given up since March 19, 2019 in a 14-4 win over UMass Lowell. The trio is improving upon a 2019 season where the defensive unit ranked 11th among NCAA Division I programs in scoring defense, allowing just 10.00 goals per game.

FRIARS WIN OPENING GAME FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2014...

Providence's 12-5 season-opening victory over Boston University on Saturday, Feb. 1 marks the first-time the Friars have won a season opener since 2014. Providence defeated Vermont, 8-6, in its opening game in 2014.

PROVIDENCE HALTS FOUR-GAME SKID VERSUS BOSTON UNIVERSITY...

A second quarter surge powered the Friars past the Terriers, 12-5, on Saturday. Feb. 1. The win marked Providence's first win over BU since 2015. The Friars outscored the Terriers, 6-0, in the second quarter to enter the half with an 8-2 lead. Matt Grillo registered his fifth-career hat trick and added one assist for four points. In his first career start in net, Toby Burgdorf held a .667 save percentage and made 10 saves.

FRIARS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN BIG EAST POLL...

Providence was picked to finish fourth in the 2020 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll with a total of 13 points. Denver is picked to win the league, having collected four first-place votes and 24 points overall. Villanova (22 points), who received two first-place votes, is picked second and Georgetown (17 points) is selected third. Rounding out the conference is Marquette (nine points) in fifth and St. John's (five points) in sixth.

HINRICHS EARNS PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST ACCOLADES...

The BIG EAST announced on Wednesday, Jan. 22 that Providence College's Tim Hinrichs (Amherst, N.H.) was named to the 2020 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Last season, Hinrichs recorded 29 points on 13 goals and 16 assists. He tallied a career-high five assists against Sacred Heart (Mar. 2). Hinrichs earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

2020 CAPTAINS...

Tim Hinrichs and Nick Shaw have been named team captains, and will lead a team comprised of 30 returners and 15 newcomers in the 2020 campaign.

ONE-GOAL GAMES IN 2019...

Seven of the Friars' 16 games in 2019 were decided by just one goal. Four of those seven resulted in losses. Additionally, two of those contests were decided in over time. The Friars won their last regular season game at home in overtime versus #17 Villanova, 9-8, to earn the fourth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.

NEXT MAN-UP...

The Friars will look for players to step-up and make an impact for the 2020 season. Providence lost its two-time All-American and two-time BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, Tate Boyce. Boyce finished with 725 career saves, marking a program record. On the offensive end, Nick Hatzipetrakos and Brendan Kearns graduated in 2019. Hatzipetrakos scored a team-high 39 goals, 7 assists and a team-high 46 points on the season. Kearns finished the 2019 season with 27 goals, a team-high 19 assists and team-high 46 points. The Friars will look to replace face-off specialist Colin Keating. Keating finished the season 113-218 (51.8-percent) at the face-off "X" and collected a team-high 53 groundballs.

WELCOME TO FRIARTOWN...

The Friars welcomed 15 freshmen to the men's lacrosse program in the fall of 2019. Newcomers include Jack Kilian (Jupiter, Fla.), Cullen Young (Maynard, Mass.), John Hufnagel (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Grant Latimer (Topsfield, Mass.), John Hoffman (Smithtown, N.Y.), Danny Striano (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), Wynton Bastian (Carlsbad, Calif.), Dean Costalas (Royersford, Pa.), Michael Hughes (Andover, Mass.), Owen Borek (Raymond, N.H.), Chad Cannon (Wilmington, Del.), Brendan Tully (Foxborough, Mass.), Luke McKernan (Duluth, Ga.) and John Anderson (Hollis, N.H.).

SCOUTING BROWN...

The Bears enter Saturday's matchup with a 2-1 record. Brown defeated Quinnipiac (11-7) and Sacred Heart (20-7) in their opening games before falling to Stony Brook, 11-10, in overtime last weekend.

Brown was selected fifth in the 2020 Ivy League Preseason Poll.

PLAYERS TO WATCH...

The Bears return four 2019 All-Ivy League selections in senior goalie Phil Goss, junior midfielders George Grell and Ryan Aughavin and sophomore defenseman Andrew Geppert.

Goss was named an USILA Pre-Season All-American and to the Tewaaraton Award Men's Watch List. Goss is 2-1 on the season with .596 save percentage.

Brown's offense is led by attackmen Luke McCaleb and Darian Cook. McCaleb leads the Bears in goals (eight) and tied with a team-high 11 points. Cook has a team-best seven assists and 11 points on the season.

WHAT'S NEXT...

The Friars conclude their three-game road trip against Sacred Heart on Saturday, Mar. 7. Face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. at Campus Field in Fairfield, Conn. The game will serve as Youth Day for Sacred Heart.

Last season, the Friars fell to the Pioneers, 17-16. Tim Hinrichs registered six points on one goal and five assists. Matt Grillo had a hat-trick in the loss.

Sacred Heart holds a 5-3 all-time record against the Friars.

Awards and Honors

Emmett Jennings

USILA Division I Team of the Week (Feb. 3)

Toby Burgdorf

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 17)

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 10)

Matt Grillo

BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 10)

USILA Division I Team of the Week (Feb. 11)

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Players Mentioned

John Anderson

Wynton Bastian

Owen Borek

Tate Boyce

Toby Burgdorf

Chad Cannon

Dean Costalas

Matt Grillo

Nick Hatzipetrakos

Tim Hinrichs

John Hoffman

John Hufnagel

Michael Hughes

Emmett Jennings

Brendan Kearns

Colin Keating

Jack Kilian

Grant Latimer

Sean Leahey

Luke McKernan

Ryan Nawrocki

Luke O'Grady

Nick Shaw

Rob Stovel

Danny Striano

Nick Tommasi

Brendan Tully

Cullen Young

Ryan Zimmerman