SMITHFIELD, R.I.- The Providence College men's lacrosse team dropped its first game of the season to the Bryant Bulldogs, 9-8, in Smithfield, R.I. on Feb. 13.
Dan Axelson (Cohasset, Mass.) tallied three goals, marking his fourth hat-trick of his career.
First Quarter:
- Matt Grillo (Setauket, N.Y.) tallied the first goal of the season with 3:41 remaining in the first. John Hoffman (Smithtown, N.Y.) recorded the assist on the goal.
- Bryant scored a goal of their own late in the quarter to tie it 1-1.
- The quarter ended knotted up, 1-1.
Second Quarter:
- Bryant scored two straight to gain the advantage, 3-1.
- Providence scored three out of the next four goals to tie it at four. Axelson, Hoffman and Ryan Nawrocki (Smithtown, N.Y.) registered the goals for the Friars.
- Bryant scored with 7:15 remaining in the quarter and entered halftime leading, 5-4.
- Emmett Jennings (Fair Haven, N.J.) had four groundballs and a caused turnover in the first half.
Third Quarter:
- After Bryant scored with 13:28, Hoffman responded ten seconds later with his second goal of the game to pull the Friars within one, 6-5. Chris Cusolito (Melrose, Mass.) registered his first points in his Friars' career on his assist to Hoffman.
- Bryant would extend the lead back to two at 9:28. Providence responded with two straight goals from Grillo and Axelson in the man-up situation, respectively, to tie the game at seven.
- Providence and Bryant were tied at seven after three quarters.
Fourth Quarter:
- Bryant scored two goals in just over two minutes in the middle of the quarter to take a two-goal advantage (9-7).
- With 19 seconds remaining, Axelson notched his third goal of the game to pull the Friars within one, 9-8.
- Bryant held on to win, 9-8.
Game Notes:
- Grillo's two goals in the game mark 15 straight games with a goal. The junior attack has 42 goals in the span.
- Nawrocki led the Friars with three assists. He also chipped in with one goal and two groundballs.
- With the win, Bryant holds a 9-8 all-time record against Providence
Goalkeeping:
PC–
Toby Burgdorf – 12 saves, 9 goals against, .571 save percentage
BU– Luke Caracciolo – 16 saves, 8 goals against, .667 save percentage
Face-offs:
PC- 8-21
BU- 13-21
Extra-Man Opportunities:
PC- 1-4
BU- 0-6
Groundballs:
PC- 31
BU- 35
Caused Turnovers:
PC- 8
BU- 8
What's Next: The Friars head to Queens, N.Y. to open up BIG EAST play with the St. John's Red Storm on Feb. 20 at 1:00 p.m.
St. John's leads the all-time series against Providence, 15-4.
-GO FRIARS-