Men's Soccer Hosts Franklin Pierce In Regular Season Finale

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's soccer team will host Franklin Pierce in their last game of the regular season on Friday, April 9. The game is scheduled for kick-off at 7:00 p.m. on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, R.I.

Series History vs. Franklin Pierce
Providence and Franklin Pierce have never played each other in program history.

Scouting the Ravens
Franklin Pierce holds a 2-0-0 overall in the spring 2020-21 season. They have not played a conference game this season. The Ravens' two wins came over American International. The Ravens defeated the Yellow Jackets, 4-1, on Friday, March 19 in their first meeting and 4-0 in their second meeting on Thursday, April 1. Nine players have accumulated points in those two games. Marco Perez leads the team in points (four) and goals (two). Aaron Acevedo Artes, Miguel Angel Pastor Guitierrez and Gustavo Rodriguez all have three points on one goal and an assist. In net, Kosta Maniatis and Diego Montoya Casillas have both tallied a win. Maniatis has not allowed a goal and grabbed one save. Montoya corralled two saves and has a .667 save percentage.

Scouting the Friars
Providence holds a 4-3-1 record with a 3-3-1 mark in BIG EAST play. The Friars have not played since March 27 where they fell to No. 2 Georgetown, 3-0. The Friars topped Villanova, 2-0, on Saturday, March 20. Freshman Brendan McSorley (Randolph, N.J.), who was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (March 22), scored both goals in the match. The game winning goal came in the opening 25 seconds of play off a feed from Christopher Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.). On Saturday, March 13, Providence fell to Seton Hall, 2-1. Luis Garcia (Gran Canaria, Spain) scored the lone goal for Providence in the 20th minute. Previously, the Friars fell to St. John's, 2-0, on March 10 and tied the No. 5 Georgetown Hoyas, 0-0, in double-overtime on March 6.

Ten Friars have racked up points. Gevork Diarbian (Cranston, R.I.), who earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (March 8), leads the pack with seven points. He scored three goals and gathered one assist. Roman and McSorley both have gathered four points. McSorley off two goals and Roman from a goal and two assists. Garcia, Gage Raftery (Seattle, Wash.), Aidan Melville (Cumberland Foreside, Maine), Paulo Lima (Lisbon, Portugal) andKevin Vang (Cranston, R.I.) all have tallied two points. Junior keeper Rimi Olatunji (Brampton, Ontario) was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week for two consecutive weeks (March 1/March 8). The win over Villanova (3/20) marked his fifth shutout of the season. He holds a .800 save percentage and 0.830 goals against average.

On Net
The Friars have a .458 shot on goal percentage through eight matches. Out of the 72 shots that have been taken, 33 have been on net. Freshman Gevork Diarbian (Cranston, R.I.) leads the squad with a .571 shot on goal percentage.

Stacking Up Shutouts
Providence has recorded five shutouts this season, all credited to Rimi Olatunji. The latest came over Villanova, 2-0, on March 20.

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 Georgetown, 0-0, on Saturday, March 6.

Schedule Update
The Friars' last three league games were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns in the opposing teams' program. These contests will not be rescheduled. Providence was scheduled to play St. John's (April 3), UConn (April 7) and Seton Hall (April 10).

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 top two teams in the East Division will qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament through April 14-17. The top seed in the league will host the event. Providence currently sits in third place with a .500 win percentage behind Georgetown (.875) and Seton Hall (.750).

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

Brendan McSorley
-BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (March 22)

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

Gevork Diarbian