Sept. 13, 2008

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sophomore Michael Pereira (London, Ontario) scored in the 82nd minute to lift the 25th-ranked Providence College men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No. 20 Georgetown Saturday afternoon at PC's Glay Field in the BIG EAST opener. With the win, the Friars improved to 3-0-1 overall, including a 1-0 mark in the BIG EAST. Georgetown fell to 5-1-0 and 0-1 in league play.

Pereira's goal came with 8:20 remaining in the second half following a corner kick. Pereira, who was on top of the box, fired a shot from 20 yards out that deflected off a Georgetown defender and into the net. It marked Pereira's first collegiate goal. Georgetown, which came into today's match without yielding a goal, had its shutout streak end at 531:40. For the Friars, it marks the second consecutive season that they have beaten an undefeated squad in the Conference opener. Last season, PC posted a 2-0 win at DePaul, which was had a 4-0 record coming into the game.

The Hoyas nearly took the lead in the 70th minute when Jose Calchao's header at the back post was saved by Timothy Murray (Haverhill, Mass.) who finished with two saves to earn the clean sheet. Wilber also stopped two shots for the Hoyas.

In the first half, Providence carried the play and held a 6-2 shot advantage. However, it was the Hoyas who nearly took the lead in the 19th minute. Scott Larrabee played a cross from the left flank to Calchao, whose header missed wide right. The Friars responded in the 23rd minute when junior Timothy Ritter (Weston, Mass.) flicked a pass to sophomore Alex Redding (Newton, Mass.) who was left alone just inside the 18-yard box, but his shot missed high. Four minutes later, senior Ryan Maduro (Bristol, R.I.) ripped a shot from 25 yards out, but Wilber was able to tip the ball over the cross bar for a corner kick.

The Friars are back in action on Monday, September 15 with a road match at Northeastern beginning at 6:00 p.m.