Men’s Soccer Set To Face Villanova

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's soccer team heads to Villanova for its second BIG EAST game of the 2021 spring season. The game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3 at the Higgins Soccer Complex in Villanova, Pa.

Series History vs. Villanova
First Meeting: Providence - 2, Villanova - 0 (1984)
Last Meeting: Providence – 2, Connecticut – 0 (2019)
All-Time Series: Providence leads series, 16-11-2

Scouting the Wildcats
Villanova started its spring 2021 season going 0-3. They were defeated by La Salle, 2-1, on Saturday, Feb. 13 in their season opener and lost to Drexel, 3-0, on Sunday, Feb. 21. In the Wildcats opening BIG EAST tilt they fell to Georgetown, 3-0. Branden Johns leads the team in points (2) with one goal. In net, Carson Williams has a .667 save percentage and is averaging 2.80 goals against.

Scouting the Friars
Providence defeated Rhode Island, 4-0, in their season opener at home on Saturday, Feb. 20. In the following week they defeated UConn, 2-0, in their BIG EAST opener. Gevork Diarbian (Cranston, R.I.), who earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (March 1), leads the pack with five points. He scored a goal in each game and gathered one assist. Christopher Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.) gathered three points in the Friars opening game against URI with one goal and one assist. Gage Raftery (Seattle, Wash.), Aidan Melville (Cumberland Foreside, Maine) and Paulo Lima (Lisbon, Portugal) all have tallied two points off a goal. Kevin Vang (Cranston, R.I.) and Gil Santos (Parede, Portugal) have recorded an assist for one point. Junior keeper Rimi Olatunji (Brampton, Ontario) was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (March 1). He has recorded back-to-back shutouts. He has made eight saves in the first two games.

Providence Starts Strong
The Friars started the season 2-0. This marks the first time the team has won their first two games since the 2015 season.

Fresh Friar Faces
The Friars' roster welcomes 11 newcomers for the 2021 spring season. Samuel Biven (Atlanta, Georgia), Lukas Burns (Cinnaminson, N.J.), Gevork Diarbian (Cranston, R.I.), Ryan Gallagher (Safety Harbor, Fla.), Brendan McSorley (Randolph, N.J.), Aidan Melville (Cumberland Foreside, Maine), Jason Pereira (Bloomfield, N.J.) and Armaan Wilson (Kleinburg, Ontario) make up the group of incoming freshmen. Luis Garcia (Gran Canaria, Spain), Jonny Nixon (Cheshire, England), Adam Riis (Hellerup, Denmark) are incoming transfers.

Preseason Poll and Awards
Paulo Lima was voted to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team entering the spring 2021 season. With one first-place vote, Providence was voted to finish second (20 points) in the East Division of the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Friars finished in third place last season with an overall record of 16-7 and 6-3 in BIG EAST play. Georgetown, the reigning tournament champion, was selected to finish first with five first-place votes (25 points). Behind PC, St. John's, who finished second in regular season play last season, was picked third (17 points). Connecticut (13 points), Seton Hall (8 points) and Villanova (7 points) finish out the standings for the East Division.

Up Next
The Friars' take on the Georgetown Hoyas on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. Kick off is set for 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 6 in Providence, R.I.

2020-21 Providence College Award Winners

Gevork Diarbian
-BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (March 1)

Paulo Lima
-Preseason All-BIG EAST Team

Rimi Olatunji
-BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (March 1)

Christopher Roman
-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 22)

For more updates on the Providence men's soccer program, follow the team on Twitter @PCFriarsMSoccer.

-GO FRIARS!-

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Samuel Biven

Lukas Burns

Gevork Diarbian

Ryan Gallagher

Luis Garcia

Paulo Lima

Brendan McSorley

Aidan Melville

Jonny Nixon

Rimi Olatunji

Jason Pereira

Gage Raftery

Adam Riis

Christopher Roman

Gil Santos

Kevin Vang

Armaan Wilson

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at Seton Hall on September 19, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at Brown on September 23, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at Xavier on September 27, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Villanova on October 3, 2025 , Win , 5, to, 0

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at St. John's on October 11, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Marquette on October 17, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Connecticut on October 25, 2025 , Tie , 0, to, 0

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at DePaul on November 1, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Georgetown on November 7, 2025 , Tie , 2, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus #15 Georgetown University on November 13, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2

Providence College Athletics

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