April 30, 2009

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Four members of the Providence College men's lacrosse team earned conference awards at the annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's Lacrosse Championship banquet on Thursday, April 30 in Buffalo, N.Y. Senior attackman Bobby Labadini (Westford, Mass.) and junior defenseman Ryan Riedl (Winchester, Mass.) received First-Team All-MAAC honors, while graduate student midfielder Colin Reposa (East Falmouth, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder Evan Helda (Charlotte, N.C.) were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team.

Labadini, a First-Team All-MAAC selection at attack, leads the Friars in scoring this season, posting a team-high 39 points on 25 goals and 14 assists. He has registered at least one point in all 14 games in which he's played and has tallied two or more points in nine-of-14 contests. On March 21 at Wagner, Labadini registered a career-high eight points on a personal-best six goals and two assists. Labadini's eight points against the Seahawks were the most scored by a Friar since 2002 and his six goals were the most by a PC player since Head Coach Chris Burdick took over in 1998. He was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on March 9 and 23 this season. Labadini's 91 career points ties him with Brian Kirkwood '92 and Kevin McCarthy '88 for 21st all-time at Providence College.

Riedl, a First-Team All-MAAC selection at defense, anchors a PC defensive unit that ranks first in the MAAC with a 5.47 goals against average in conference play. He leads the Friars with 24 caused turnovers and is second on PC with 41 ground balls in 2009. In Providence's 9-7 win versus Marist on April 15, he picked up four ground balls and forced a career-high five turnovers. Riedl picked up a career-high six ground balls and posted a game-high four caused turnovers on April 11 at Mt. St. Mary's. This is his second-career All-MAAC honor. He was named to the All-MAAC Second Team as a sophomore in 2008.

Reposa and Helda were named to the 2009 MAAC All-Academic Team for their performances in the classroom. Reposa earned the honor for his work as a graduate student in the MBA program. Helda receives the award for his performance as an undergraduate in the finance program.

The Friars enter the 2009 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 1 seed Siena in the semifinals on Friday, May 1 in Buffalo, N.Y. on the campus of Canisius College. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. In the second semifinal game, scheduled for 4:30 p.m., No. 2 Mt. St. Mary's will face No. 3 Manhattan. The winner of each semifinal game will advance to the MAAC Championship game scheduled for Noon on Sunday, May 3 in Buffalo, N.Y. The champion of the 2009 MAAC Tournament will earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Providence has won three of the last five MAAC Tournament titles.

Fans can follow the PC/Siena game live by utilizing the Gametracker feature on Friars.com.