Providence College Athletics

Wednesday, March 3
Providence, R.I.
6:00 p.m.

Providence College

vs

Fairfield

Ryan Nawrocki
Photo by: Stew Milne

Men's Lacrosse Welcomes Fairfield For Home Opener

3/2/2021 1:26:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Face-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. on Wednesday, Mar. 3.

PROVIDENCE WELCOMES FAIRFIELD FOR HOME OPENER..

Providence College welcome the Fairfield Stags on Wednesday, Mar. 3 at 6:00 p.m. at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. This marks the first home game for the Friars in 2021.

LIVE STATS AND STREAM... 

The game will be broadcast and the live stats can be found on on Providence College's athletic website:  www.friars.com

SERIES BREAKDOWN... 

Since 1980, the Stags and Friars have met 19 times. Fairfield leads the all-time series, 13-6.

PROVIDENCE DEFEATED BY #12 DENVER, 23-10...

Providence concluded its three-game road trip with a 23-10 loss to #12 Denver at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colo. Three Friars - Matt Grillo, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Chabra - tallied two goals apiece in the defeat. 

NAWROCKI AND AXELSON PROVIDING OFFENSIVE BOOST...

Graduate students Ryan Nawrocki and Dan Axelson have provided the Friars with an offensive boost through three games. Nawrocki leads the Friars in assists (seven) and points (ten). Nawrocki is second in the BIG EAST in assists per game and tenth in points per game (3.33). Axelson leads Providence in goals (seven), man-up goals (three) and second in points (eight). Axelson ranks tied for first in man-up goals per game (0.67) and tied for eighth in goals per game (2.33).

SECOND QUARTER SURGE PUSHES FRIARS PAST RED STORM...

After leading 3-0 after one quarter, Providence used seven goals in the second quarter to extend their lead to 10-3 entering the break. Providence went on to defeat St. John's, 16-8. Four Friars - Matt Leader, Dan Axelson, Ryan Zimmerman and Tim Hinrichs - tallied hat-tricks. Ryan Nawocki chipped in with two goals and four assists. RJ Romeo won 21-28 (.750) face-offs and picked up 11 groundballs in the victory.

ROMEO TABS BIG EAST MIDFIELDER OF THE WEEK...

RJ Romeo was tabbed BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week following his performance in Providence's 16-8 victory over St. John's (2/21). Romeo won 21-28 (.750) face-offs and picked up 11 groundballs in the victory. Romeo currently ranks 10th in the nation in face-off win percentage and first in the BIG EAST (.622).

FRIARS FALL TO BRYANT IN SEASON OPENER...

Providence dropped its first game of the season to Bryant, 9-8, in Smithfield, R.I. Dan Axelson tallied three goals for the Friars, marking the fourth hat-trick in his career and first on the season. Ryan Nawrocki added one goal, three assists and two groundballs. Goalie Toby Burgdorf saved 12 shots in the defeat.

BURGDORF AND HOFFMAN EARN BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS...

Goalie Toby Burgdorf and attackman John Hoffman earned BIG EAST weekly awards following their performances at Bryant (2/13). Burgdorf, who earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, saved 12 shots and held a .571 save percentage against the Bulldogs. Hoffman was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after recording two goals, one assist, two groundballs and one caused turnover.

ONE MORE GO AROUND...

Nine of the 12 seniors on the 2020 team have returned for one more season in the black, white and silver. Led by captains Tim Hinrichs, Nick Shaw and Nick Tommasi, they will look to leave their mark on Friartown.

HINRICHS REPEATS AS PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST HONOREE...

Graduate student Tim Hinrichs was named to the 2021 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team for the second-consecutive season. Hinrichs will be critical in the middle of the field for the Friars this season. The captain registered eight points on four goals and four assists in six games last season.

TOBY TIME...

Senior captain Toby Burgdorf was named 2021 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America Honorable Mention and 2021 USILA Preseason All-America Honorable Mention. Burgdorf put together an exceptional season between the pipes during his first year as a full-time starter in 2020. He posted a 5-1 record and finished the season ranked second in the nation in save percentage (.628), third in goals against average (7.94) and 13th in saves per game (13.50). 

GRILL-O LOOKS TO COOK IN HIS JUNIOR SEASON...

Junior Matt Grillo looks to continue his strong scoring attitude in his third season. Currently, Grillo is one of 14 players in the nation with an active scoring streak of 15 games of more. Grillo has scored 44 goals in 16 games. Grillo scored two goals in the opener against Bryant and two more against Denver. 

Grillo ranked third on the team in points (40) with 30 goals and 10 assists his freshman season. Last season, Grillo led the Friars in points (25) and goals (21). Grillo scored a hat-trick in five out of six games last season. Currently, Grillo ranks second in goals (fourth) and points (four) despite playing in two of three games.

CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN...

Head Coach Chris Gabrielli announced that graduate students Tim Hinrichs and Nick Shaw will return as captains for Providence. Additionally, graduate student Nick Tommasi and seniors Toby Burgdorf and Evan McGreen were named captains.

STRONG, BUT SHORT 2020 SEASON...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friars were only able to play six games in the 2020 season. The Friars went 5-1 in the shortened season and won the 2020 Ocean State Cup after defeating Bryant and Brown. Providence's 5-1 start to the season marks the best start to the season in program history since Gabrielli's first season in 2013.

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

Providence was picked to finish fourth in the 2021 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, with a total of 13 points. Denver was picked to win the league, having collected five first-place votes and 25 points overall. Georgetown (21 points), who received one first-place vote, was picked second and Villanova (17 points) was selected third. Rounding out the conference was Marquette (nine points) in fifth and St. John's (five points) in sixth. 

WELCOME TO FRIARTOWN... 

The Friars welcomed 13 freshmen and three transfers to the men's lacrosse program in the fall of 2020. Newcomers include Ty Thureson (Stillwater, Minn.), Chris Cusolito (Melrose, Mass.), Ricky Amorim (Warrington, Pa.), Michael Chabra (Reading, Mass.), Alex Schrank (Setauket, N.Y.), Billy Metz (Dallas, Texas), Will Collins (Marblehead, Mass.), Kevin Beatty (Summit, N.J.), Tom Fegley (Easton, Pa.), Brendan Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.), Rhys Day (Atlanta, Ga.), Connor Davies (Plantation, Fla.) and Cooper Shape (Hingham, Mass.). The three transfers include graduate student Peter Pittroff (Charlotte, N.C.)l Matt Murakami (Lake Grove, Ill.) and Harry Gregory (Summit, N.J.). Pittroff transferred to Friartown from Denison University and Murakami transferred from UMass Lowell. Gregory transferred from St. Lawrence.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD... 

Fairfield finished its abbrieviated 2020 season at 5-2. The Stags fell to fellow BIG EAST foe, Georgetown, 25-12.

Fairfield was selected last in the 2021 CAA Preseason Coaches' Poll with five points.

PLAYERS TO WATCH...  

Dylan Beckwith returns for his graduate season after a stellar 2020 season. The 2021 Preseason All-CAA Team selection led Fairfield with 25 goals and 42 points last season. The attack was an Inside Lacrosse Media All-America Honorable Mention and was on the final Tewaaraton Award Watch List.

Midfielder Taylor Strough earned 2021 Preseason All-CAA Team honors. Strough led the CAA in 2020 with six man-up goals. Strough was second on the team in goals (24) and third in points (26).

The probable goalkeeper for Fairfield is James Corasaniti. Corasaniti played 414:41 of the 420 minutes last season for the Stags.  Corasaniti allowed 15.63 goals per game and held a .473 save percentage last season.

WHAT'S NEXT... 

The Friars welcomes BIG EAST foe Villanova to Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. Face-off is set for Sunday, Mar. 7 at noon.

In the last meeting, in 2019, the Friars defeated the #17/18 Wildcats, 9-8, in overtime.

Next Event

Fairfield
W, 18-17

Mar 3 (Wed)

6:00 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Defense
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO / Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Defense
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack/Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO
/ Men's Lacrosse
Defense
/ Men's Lacrosse
Defense
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
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