Providence, R.I.- The Providence College men's lacrosse team fell to Villanova, 11-8, on March 7 in Providence, R.I. at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. The Friars drop to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in BIG EAST play while the Wildcats improve to 2-1 overall, 2-1 in BIG EAST play.
First Quarter:
-Villanova went ahead early, scoring the first two goals of the game.
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Matt Leader (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) put the Friars on the board at 9:28 with an unassisted goal (2-1)
-After the Wildcats went ahead, 3-1,
Dan Axelson (Cohasset, Mass.) trimmed the lead back to one at 2:14 with his tenth goal of the season.
-Villanova led after one, 3-2.
-Providence picked up eight groundballs in the quarter to Villanova's four.
Second Quarter:
-Villanova scored the opening two goals of the quarter to gain a three-goal advantage (5-2).
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Chris Cusolito (Melrose, Mass.) found
Ryan Zimmerman (Syracuse, N.Y.) near the left of the crease to score a Providence goal with 9:53 remaining. Villanova still led, 5-3.
- In a man-up opportunity,
Ryan Nawrocki (Fair Haven, N.J.) found Zimmerman who scored his second-straight goal to bring the Friars back within one with 4:29 left. Villanova led, 5-4.
-Villanova entered the break winning, 5-4.
Third Quarter:
-Villanova opened the half strong, scoring the first three goals on the quarter to push its lead to four, 8-4.
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Evan McGreen (Narragansett, R.I.) scored an unassisted goal at 7:08 to bring the Friars within three (8-5).
-Nawrocki passed to
Tim Hinrichs (Amherst, N.H.) who scored his ninth goal of the season with 5:08 remaining. Villanova still led, 8-6.
-Villanova added one more goal to end the quarter leading, 9-6.
Fourth Quarter:
-Nawrocki found
Brendan Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.) who scored his first goal of the game and third of the season. The Friars trailed by two, 9-7 with 5:51 remaining.
-Less than a minute later, McGreen found Axelson at the top, who scored to pull Providence within one. The Wildcats led, 9-8.
-Villanova scored two more goals late in the quarter to secure the victory, 11-8.
Game Notes:
- Axelson and Zimmerman led the Friars with two goals apiece. Axelson added one caused turnover.
-Nawrocki pitched in with three assists. He leads the Friars on the season with 11 assists.
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Nick Tommasi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had career-highs in caused turnovers (four) and groundballs (five).
Goalkeeping:
PC–
Toby Burgdorf – 8 saves, 11 goals against, .421 save percentage
VU – Will Vitton - 16 saves, 8 goals against, .667 save percentage
Face-offs:
PC- 10-21
VU- 11-21
Extra-Man Opportunities:
PC- 1-4
VU- 1-4
Groundballs:
PC- 23
VU- 17
Caused Turnovers:
PC- 14
VU- 10
What's Next: The Friars travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 13.