Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at RV/#19 Fairfield on March 1, 2025 , Loss , 7, to, 15
Men's Lacrosse
at RV/#19 Fairfield
Final
7
-
15
Providence College Athletics
Feature: Eight Members Of The 2020 Senior Class Will See Their Lacrosse Journey Come Full Circle Tonight As They Embark On The BIG EAST Championship
5/6/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Friars will face top-seeded Denver in the BIG EAST Semifinals at 5:30 p.m. on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium.
The Providence College men's lacrosse team will begin its BIG EAST Tournament run tonight on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium [May 6]. The Friars are set to face the top-seeded Denver Pioneers in the first semifinal of the tournament at 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
The scene is a familiar one for a special group of upperclassmen, who returned for the extra year of eligibility, granted to all spring sports student-athletes by the NCAA. That extra year was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced an abrupt ending to the 2020 campaign.
Eight of the team's 11 seniors from the 2020 season are back with the program and are looking forward to a magical run on their home turf. They were just freshmen the last time the Friars had an opportunity to compete in the BIG EAST Championship at 'The Chap' in 2017.
That year, Providence overcame a 4-2 first-quarter deficit in the semifinals against the 15th-ranked Villanova Wildcats. The Friars finished the game with an 8-3 scoring advantage, including a 4-0 edge in the second quarter. Providence scored two of its four goals during the second quarter in the final three seconds, including an absolute bomb from midfield, off the stick of then-freshman Tim Hinrichs with one-second remaining. The goal was later featured on ESPN's Top-10 plays.
The win seemed improbable, as just days earlier, the Wildcats had claimed a dominant 15-7 victory over the Friars in the regular-season finale.
Nonetheless, Providence College was on its way to the program's first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship Game, where they fell to Marquette in heartbreaking fashion, 10-9.
So here we are again. The stage is set for another opportunity to claim a BIG EAST title at home.
Hinrichs, along with his fellow classmates and graduate students Dan Axelson, Troy Higgins, Ryan Nawrocki, RJ Romeo, Nick Shaw, Nick Tommasi and Ryan Zimmerman have been waiting for this moment to arrive.
It's been a long road to get here, and many never thought this opportunity would present itself.
Rewind back to March 12, 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic had already shutdown the NBA and NHL. NCAA Division I men's basketball canceled their respective conference tournaments one-by-one, falling like dominoes.
Head Coach Chris Gabrielli knew deep down that the ripple effect of the pandemic was inevitable – and that the BIG EAST Conference and his Friars were among the last dominoes still standing.
"We all knew something was stirring," Gabrielli said. "We had a pre-practice meeting, and I was trying to compartmentalize and just focus on our preparation for Hofstra and our normal process. I look up and I think I see Rocco [RJ Romeo] tearing up. I looked right at him and I just started crying and said fellas, I don't know what's going to happen, let's just take it day by day."
Gabrielli carried his cell phone out to practice that afternoon [something he never does], expecting that he would be getting a call from Providence College Athletics Director Bob Driscoll with an update.
~
The Friars were rolling.
They had posted a 5-1 overall record to start the 2020 season. The squad hoisted its second Ocean State Cup trophy in program history on Feb. 29, taking down Brown in an overtime thriller, 13-12. They were fresh off a dominant victory at Sacred Heart and were focused on their preparation for Hofstra.
All of that came to a screeching halt.
Coach Gabrielli got the news that he was dreading for his young men.
He gathered the group together and had to tell them that the season was over. The BIG EAST Conference had canceled spring sports competition, effectively immediately.
Everyone knew it was coming, but the moment seemed unbearable and nearly impossible to fully digest as reality. It was a surreal moment.
"I was numb," Tommasi explained. "There was a sense that it was coming to an end and we were out there trying to practice and prepare and not think about it. We put in all the work and the time commitment physically and mentally and to have it [the season] taken away like that put me back. It took me a while to go through all the emotions and understand what was going on. I was just numb."
The team started to trickle off the field, all while attempting to console one another, until just a handful of seniors remained. Teammates, friends, brothers… all trying to wrap their heads around the idea that their careers were over. They stayed on the field for over an hour – talking, sharing and trying to support one another. Shock, sadness, anger and disbelief don't adequately cover the range of emotions.
"It wasn't all about the lacrosse aspect," Shaw added. "Of course, we were heartbroken about that, but it was also the team aspect. It was the last time I was going to be on the field with my brothers – my family. It's one of the reasons we all just sat out there on the field and talking. We didn't want it to end. The bond we created over four years built the strongest relationships I have ever had, and that was the hardest part."
Then came quarantine.
"The emotions on the field that day were super raw," Hinrichs remembered. "I got hit 10-times harder a couple weeks down the road. We all had to go home, we're in quarantine and we were all left alone with our thoughts. That's when the real pain and misery set in."
As the days and weeks went on, rumors of the NCAA providing an extra year of eligibility began to circulate.
You might think that this was the lifeline these young men needed. An opportunity they would jump at without hesitation. But the consensus among the group, and what they all grappled individually while left alone with their thoughts amid quarantine, was that doing this all over again was too much to handle a second time around.
"That was one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with," Romeo said. "We did everything right last season and after all those emotions, I really didn't know if I could do it [come back for another season]. The way it ended was so hard."
Coach Gabrielli had not touched the subject with them. The emotions were still overwhelming and he thought the idea of actively recruiting his seniors to come back for another year was simply in poor taste. He gave them their space and he and the staff tried to support them as best they could.
It was Nick Shaw who eventually had a conversation with Gabrielli, letting him know that the guys were ready to listen. That conversation came after Shaw and his classmates spent countless hours on zoom with one another during quarantine. The meetings were almost everynight for two and three hours at a time. During one of the nightly gatherings, the group was tossing around the idea of what it would be like to have another year.
At that point, Shaw felt like it would be a pretty good option and thought he'd love the chance to have another year with the guys.
"That's when I told coach that everyone is kind of getting ready," Shaw said. "And if one person commits to it [coming back] it's going to be a domino effect. That memory really sticks out for me."
It had been two months since the shutdown, but on May 15, Hinrichs was the first Friar to announce his return. And then in June and July the announcements continued to roll out on the team's social media accounts.
"I wasn't really ready to say I was coming back," Hinrichs said of his ultimate decision. "I sat with it for a while, and it was a true epiphany when I realized that if I didn't take this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I know that for a fact."
"When the season ended last March, at that moment, I was just defeated," Higgins recalled. "We had no control over it. We were playing our best lacrosse and that moment was a culmination of our entire lives and the work we had put in from young boys during the recruiting process to the men that this program has shaped us into. I was defeated and I couldn't imagine feeling that for the rest of my life, so I had to jump at the chance. There was no question that I'd be returning."
Only three members of the 2020 senior class made the difficult decision to forgo their final season of eligibility with the Friars – and took the next step in their respective journeys.
Rob Stovel headed home to Canada and is currently training and studying to become a police officer. He also was drafted by the San Diego Seals in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft. Kevin McCordic enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where he was accepted into the prestigious ESTEEM Graduate Program, which focuses on the action of entrepreneurship. Sean Leahey also headed to South Bend, Indiana to enroll in graduate school at Notre Dame. He is using his final season of eligibility with the Fighting Irish, having appeared in seven of the team's 10 games as of May 1.
The eight players who remained were now fully committed to extending their academic and athletic careers in Friartown.
Along the way, the program gained graduate transfer Peter Pitroff. Like his new classmates at Providence, he too thought his collegiate lacrosse career was over. He played the previous four seasons at Denison University, where he accumulated 261 points (86 goals/175 assists) on his way to achieving USILA All-America honors in back-to-back seasons (2018-2019). His first day on campus, the tight-knit group of returning seniors took him in immediately, and the brotherhood got one man stronger.
"Coming in, I was definitely really nervous to meet everyone," Pitroff said. "Seeing the guys on social media and following the team from afar, I could see how close they were. But from day one, I just felt so welcomed, and I have loved every second. I consider these guys some of my best friends even though I've only known them for a year."
The group of nine players, who were sure that their careers were over, were now embarking on the 2021 season.
It looked different…
The workouts, the meetings, the schedule, the BIG EAST regular-season format, school and life on campus in general… it was all very different.
A couple things were familiar, though.
The absolute joy in competing on the field 'with the boys' and the goal of winning a BIG EAST Championship. Winning it on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium would just be icing on the cake. Furthermore, the Friars' returning graduate students had a sense that their experience as members of the program were coming full circle.
The last time the tournament rolled through Friartown, they were so close to capping off a magical run. No one gave them a chance in the semifinals against Villanova in 2017. Many are probably thinking along those same lines heading into this year's semifinal as they go toe-to-toe with perennial power Denver.
"We know what we are capable of," Axelson said. "We know WE are enough and can get it done on the field. There are people doubting us, but I think that just fuels the excitement and I honestly can't wait to get out there. We want to prove people wrong and we're going into the tournament with that attitude… we're looking forward to it."
But for this group, there is something about playing at home on 'The Chap' and the idea of finishing their careers on their terms, and NOT the terms delivered to them a season earlier on March 12, 2020.
"We're just so ready to empty the tank," Zimmerman said. "Just understanding that it's do-or-die for us. This is about our careers and our legacy and we are so ready to get after it, knowing we've been blessed with this opportunity to come back here, wear this uniform and do it at home in front of our family and friends."
"I think back to the summer when coach was talking to us about coming back," Nawrocki said. "Something he was trying to get us with was: 'Hey, you know we might be able to host this thing.' For that to come full circle and to be here for this opportunity to give it one last go on our field… This is why we came back – to compete for a BIG EAST Championship. We can do it and I know the guys feel the same way."
As the Friars head into the weekend as the No. 4 seed, they relish their role as the underdog, and plan to write a proper ending to their story.
"I'd say a staple of our program, for a while now, is how we embrace being the underdogs and the mentality that goes along with that," Hinrichs said. "We've been counted out plenty of times. We're happy to be counted out because that makes us dangerous. That's going to be our approach, and we've bought in to that. The team is ready, and we're excited for the opportunity."
- GO FRIARS! -
The scene is a familiar one for a special group of upperclassmen, who returned for the extra year of eligibility, granted to all spring sports student-athletes by the NCAA. That extra year was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced an abrupt ending to the 2020 campaign.
Eight of the team's 11 seniors from the 2020 season are back with the program and are looking forward to a magical run on their home turf. They were just freshmen the last time the Friars had an opportunity to compete in the BIG EAST Championship at 'The Chap' in 2017.
That year, Providence overcame a 4-2 first-quarter deficit in the semifinals against the 15th-ranked Villanova Wildcats. The Friars finished the game with an 8-3 scoring advantage, including a 4-0 edge in the second quarter. Providence scored two of its four goals during the second quarter in the final three seconds, including an absolute bomb from midfield, off the stick of then-freshman Tim Hinrichs with one-second remaining. The goal was later featured on ESPN's Top-10 plays.
The win seemed improbable, as just days earlier, the Wildcats had claimed a dominant 15-7 victory over the Friars in the regular-season finale.
Nonetheless, Providence College was on its way to the program's first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship Game, where they fell to Marquette in heartbreaking fashion, 10-9.
So here we are again. The stage is set for another opportunity to claim a BIG EAST title at home.
Hinrichs, along with his fellow classmates and graduate students Dan Axelson, Troy Higgins, Ryan Nawrocki, RJ Romeo, Nick Shaw, Nick Tommasi and Ryan Zimmerman have been waiting for this moment to arrive.
It's been a long road to get here, and many never thought this opportunity would present itself.
Rewind back to March 12, 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic had already shutdown the NBA and NHL. NCAA Division I men's basketball canceled their respective conference tournaments one-by-one, falling like dominoes.
Head Coach Chris Gabrielli knew deep down that the ripple effect of the pandemic was inevitable – and that the BIG EAST Conference and his Friars were among the last dominoes still standing.
"We all knew something was stirring," Gabrielli said. "We had a pre-practice meeting, and I was trying to compartmentalize and just focus on our preparation for Hofstra and our normal process. I look up and I think I see Rocco [RJ Romeo] tearing up. I looked right at him and I just started crying and said fellas, I don't know what's going to happen, let's just take it day by day."
Gabrielli carried his cell phone out to practice that afternoon [something he never does], expecting that he would be getting a call from Providence College Athletics Director Bob Driscoll with an update.
~
The Friars were rolling.
They had posted a 5-1 overall record to start the 2020 season. The squad hoisted its second Ocean State Cup trophy in program history on Feb. 29, taking down Brown in an overtime thriller, 13-12. They were fresh off a dominant victory at Sacred Heart and were focused on their preparation for Hofstra.
All of that came to a screeching halt.
Coach Gabrielli got the news that he was dreading for his young men.
He gathered the group together and had to tell them that the season was over. The BIG EAST Conference had canceled spring sports competition, effectively immediately.
Everyone knew it was coming, but the moment seemed unbearable and nearly impossible to fully digest as reality. It was a surreal moment.
"I was numb," Tommasi explained. "There was a sense that it was coming to an end and we were out there trying to practice and prepare and not think about it. We put in all the work and the time commitment physically and mentally and to have it [the season] taken away like that put me back. It took me a while to go through all the emotions and understand what was going on. I was just numb."
The team started to trickle off the field, all while attempting to console one another, until just a handful of seniors remained. Teammates, friends, brothers… all trying to wrap their heads around the idea that their careers were over. They stayed on the field for over an hour – talking, sharing and trying to support one another. Shock, sadness, anger and disbelief don't adequately cover the range of emotions.
"It wasn't all about the lacrosse aspect," Shaw added. "Of course, we were heartbroken about that, but it was also the team aspect. It was the last time I was going to be on the field with my brothers – my family. It's one of the reasons we all just sat out there on the field and talking. We didn't want it to end. The bond we created over four years built the strongest relationships I have ever had, and that was the hardest part."
Then came quarantine.
"The emotions on the field that day were super raw," Hinrichs remembered. "I got hit 10-times harder a couple weeks down the road. We all had to go home, we're in quarantine and we were all left alone with our thoughts. That's when the real pain and misery set in."
As the days and weeks went on, rumors of the NCAA providing an extra year of eligibility began to circulate.
You might think that this was the lifeline these young men needed. An opportunity they would jump at without hesitation. But the consensus among the group, and what they all grappled individually while left alone with their thoughts amid quarantine, was that doing this all over again was too much to handle a second time around.
"That was one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with," Romeo said. "We did everything right last season and after all those emotions, I really didn't know if I could do it [come back for another season]. The way it ended was so hard."
Coach Gabrielli had not touched the subject with them. The emotions were still overwhelming and he thought the idea of actively recruiting his seniors to come back for another year was simply in poor taste. He gave them their space and he and the staff tried to support them as best they could.
It was Nick Shaw who eventually had a conversation with Gabrielli, letting him know that the guys were ready to listen. That conversation came after Shaw and his classmates spent countless hours on zoom with one another during quarantine. The meetings were almost everynight for two and three hours at a time. During one of the nightly gatherings, the group was tossing around the idea of what it would be like to have another year.
At that point, Shaw felt like it would be a pretty good option and thought he'd love the chance to have another year with the guys.
"That's when I told coach that everyone is kind of getting ready," Shaw said. "And if one person commits to it [coming back] it's going to be a domino effect. That memory really sticks out for me."
It had been two months since the shutdown, but on May 15, Hinrichs was the first Friar to announce his return. And then in June and July the announcements continued to roll out on the team's social media accounts.
"I wasn't really ready to say I was coming back," Hinrichs said of his ultimate decision. "I sat with it for a while, and it was a true epiphany when I realized that if I didn't take this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I know that for a fact."
"When the season ended last March, at that moment, I was just defeated," Higgins recalled. "We had no control over it. We were playing our best lacrosse and that moment was a culmination of our entire lives and the work we had put in from young boys during the recruiting process to the men that this program has shaped us into. I was defeated and I couldn't imagine feeling that for the rest of my life, so I had to jump at the chance. There was no question that I'd be returning."
Only three members of the 2020 senior class made the difficult decision to forgo their final season of eligibility with the Friars – and took the next step in their respective journeys.
Rob Stovel headed home to Canada and is currently training and studying to become a police officer. He also was drafted by the San Diego Seals in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft. Kevin McCordic enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where he was accepted into the prestigious ESTEEM Graduate Program, which focuses on the action of entrepreneurship. Sean Leahey also headed to South Bend, Indiana to enroll in graduate school at Notre Dame. He is using his final season of eligibility with the Fighting Irish, having appeared in seven of the team's 10 games as of May 1.
The eight players who remained were now fully committed to extending their academic and athletic careers in Friartown.
Along the way, the program gained graduate transfer Peter Pitroff. Like his new classmates at Providence, he too thought his collegiate lacrosse career was over. He played the previous four seasons at Denison University, where he accumulated 261 points (86 goals/175 assists) on his way to achieving USILA All-America honors in back-to-back seasons (2018-2019). His first day on campus, the tight-knit group of returning seniors took him in immediately, and the brotherhood got one man stronger.
"Coming in, I was definitely really nervous to meet everyone," Pitroff said. "Seeing the guys on social media and following the team from afar, I could see how close they were. But from day one, I just felt so welcomed, and I have loved every second. I consider these guys some of my best friends even though I've only known them for a year."
The group of nine players, who were sure that their careers were over, were now embarking on the 2021 season.
It looked different…
The workouts, the meetings, the schedule, the BIG EAST regular-season format, school and life on campus in general… it was all very different.
A couple things were familiar, though.
The absolute joy in competing on the field 'with the boys' and the goal of winning a BIG EAST Championship. Winning it on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium would just be icing on the cake. Furthermore, the Friars' returning graduate students had a sense that their experience as members of the program were coming full circle.
The last time the tournament rolled through Friartown, they were so close to capping off a magical run. No one gave them a chance in the semifinals against Villanova in 2017. Many are probably thinking along those same lines heading into this year's semifinal as they go toe-to-toe with perennial power Denver.
"We know what we are capable of," Axelson said. "We know WE are enough and can get it done on the field. There are people doubting us, but I think that just fuels the excitement and I honestly can't wait to get out there. We want to prove people wrong and we're going into the tournament with that attitude… we're looking forward to it."
But for this group, there is something about playing at home on 'The Chap' and the idea of finishing their careers on their terms, and NOT the terms delivered to them a season earlier on March 12, 2020.
"We're just so ready to empty the tank," Zimmerman said. "Just understanding that it's do-or-die for us. This is about our careers and our legacy and we are so ready to get after it, knowing we've been blessed with this opportunity to come back here, wear this uniform and do it at home in front of our family and friends."
"I think back to the summer when coach was talking to us about coming back," Nawrocki said. "Something he was trying to get us with was: 'Hey, you know we might be able to host this thing.' For that to come full circle and to be here for this opportunity to give it one last go on our field… This is why we came back – to compete for a BIG EAST Championship. We can do it and I know the guys feel the same way."
As the Friars head into the weekend as the No. 4 seed, they relish their role as the underdog, and plan to write a proper ending to their story.
"I'd say a staple of our program, for a while now, is how we embrace being the underdogs and the mentality that goes along with that," Hinrichs said. "We've been counted out plenty of times. We're happy to be counted out because that makes us dangerous. That's going to be our approach, and we've bought in to that. The team is ready, and we're excited for the opportunity."
- GO FRIARS! -
Players Mentioned
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