Feb. 25, 2010

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's lacrosse team will open its 31st season of play on Saturday, February 27 at noon against Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C. Against the Blue Hose, the Friars will begin their inaugural season in the BIG EAST Conference after spending the last 14 seasons in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (1996-2009).

The Friars have posted an 11-18 mark all-time in season openers. Providence is 5-8 in road openers and 0-3 in neutral site contests. When the Friars begin the season at home, the team has recorded a 6-7 all-time mark. The last time PC won its road opener, the Friars bested Marist in overtime, 13-12, in 1997. PC last won a home debut in 2000, defeating Holy Cross, 10-9.

Saturday's matchup marks the first ever contest between Providence and Presbyterian.

PC opens the 2010 season with four-straight road contests, the most ever by the Friars to begin the season. After the game against Presbyterian, Providence will head to Florida for a matchup with Jacksonville on March 5. From there, the Friars travel back to New England for matchups at Quinnipiac on March 13 and at Massachusetts on March 16.

Providence returns 27 players from the 2009 roster, including six starters. The Friars also welcome back three of their five leading scorers from a year ago, anchored by senior attackman Colin Tigh (Garden City, N.Y.). Tigh ranked second on the Friars with 33 points on 23 goals and 10 assists in 2010. He paced the Friars with four man-up goals and posted at least three points in seven contests last season.

The Friars also return two-of-three defensive starters from a 2009 unit that ranked 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 8.19 goals per game. Senior Ryan Riedl (Winchester, Mass.) earned First Team All-MAAC honors last season after leading the Friars with 46 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers. Junior Bertan Unal (Potomac, Md.) ranked second on the team with 17 caused turnovers in 2009 and added 28 ground balls for the Friar defense.

The Blue Hose enter Saturday's contest with a 0-1 record, as the team fell to Sacred Heart, 13-6, in its season opener on February 21 in Fairfield, Conn. Presbyterian returns all three of its top scorers from a year ago, including Sean Mulford, who led the Blue Hose with 25 points on 13 goals and 12 assists in 2009. Devin Pinkston ranked third on the team with 13 points last season and led Presbyterian with two goals and an assist against Sacred Heart. Senior goaltender John Athens will anchor the Blue Hose in the cage this season. He posted a 13.67 goals against average and a .492 save percentage last season.

Next Game

The Friars return to action on Friday, March 5 with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Jacksonville. It will mark the first ever matchup between the schools.