No. 13 Men’s Soccer Welcomes St. John’s

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The No. 13 Providence College men's soccer team hosts the St. John's Red Storm on Wednesday, March 10. The game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I. Providence holds a 8-0-1 advantage, in the last nine contests.

Series History vs. St. John's
First Meeting: Providence - 1, St. John's - 0 (1987)
Last Meeting: Providence - 2, St. John's - 1 (2019)
All-Time Series: St. John's leads series, 19-10-4

Scouting the Red Storm
St. John's is 3-2-0 in overall play and 1-2-0 in league games. In their last three games, they lost to Villanova, 1-0 (March 6), defeated UConn, 2-0 (March 3) and fell to Seton Hall, 1-0 (Feb. 27). Tani Oluwaseyi and Jared Juleau scored in the victory over the Huskies. Seven players have recorded points for the Johnnies. Oluwaseyi was named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and leads the team in points with nine. He has registered four goals and one assist. Einar Lye and Wesley Leggett both have tallied three points off a goal and an assist. Juleau and Anthony Herbert have two points, while Brandon Knapp and Ethan Shaw have one. In net, Luka Gavran and Jan Hoffelner have started for the Red Storm. Gavran is credited with a win and loss and has .846 save percentage. Hoffelner has two wins and a loss and a .800 save percentage.

Scouting the Friars
Providence holds a 3-0-1 record with a 2-0-1 mark in BIG EAST Play. Most recently, Providence had their first tie of the season against No. 5 Georgetown, 0-0 (March 6). The Friars topped Villanova, 1-0, in double-overtime on March 3. Gevork Diarbian (Cranston, R.I.) scored the golden goal in the 106th minute of play. In the Friars' season opener they defeated Rhode Island, 4-0, at home on Saturday, Feb. 20. The following week they defeated UConn, 2-0, in their BIG EAST opener. Seven Friars have racked up points in the opening four matches. Diarbian, who earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (March 8), leads the pack with seven points. He scored three goals 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 8), which marks his second consecutive week of receiving the honors. The victory over Villanova marked his third consecutive shutout. He has 18 saves on the season and has not allowed a goal thus far.

In the Polls
Providence is ranked No. 13 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll released on March 9. This marks the second week they are in the polls and they moved up one spot from the previous week. They ended the 2019 season with the same placement in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, No. 12 in NCAA RPI and a No. 11 ranking from TopDrawer Soccer.

Stacking Up Shutouts
Providence has recorded four shutouts in its first four games, all credited to Rimi Olatunji.

Providence Starts Strong
The Friars have started the season 3-0-1. This marks the first time the team has won their first three games since the 2014 season.

Success in OT
The Friars have played in two overtime games so far this season. One resulted in a win and one a tie. Providence bested Villanova, 1-0, on Wednesday, March 3 and tied with Villanova, 0-0, on Saturday, March 6.

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 Seton Hall Pirates in South Orange, N.J. Kick off is set for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 13.

2020-21 Providence College Award Winners
Gevork Diarbian
-BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (March 1)
-BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (March 8)

Paulo Lima
-Preseason All-BIG EAST Team

Rimi Olatunji
-BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (March 1)
-BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (March 8)

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

For any questions regarding attendance to games, please visit Friars.com for more information.

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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