Aug. 31, 2010

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -

The Providence College men's soccer team will play the University of Rhode Island in the season opener on Thursday, September 2 at 1:00 p.m. at PC's Glay Field. It also will mark the first match of the Ocean State Soccer Classic. Bryant will host Brown in the other match at 3:30 p.m. in Smithfield, R.I. The consolation game (4:00 p.m.) and the championship match (7:00 p.m.) will be held on Monday, September 6 at Brown University's Stevenson Field.

Providence is coming off its fifth-consecutive winning season after posting a 10-7-3 mark in 2009. During its run to the BIG EAST Championship semifinals, PC won five consecutive games, including road victories at Villanova (2-1 on Nov. 4) and at No. 8 Connecticut (1-0 in overtime on Nov. 7). The win at UConn marked the first triumph over the Huskies in Storrs, Conn. since 1984. The 2010 Friars return 10 letter winners from last season's team, including senior Matt Marcin (Wilmington, Del.) who led the team in scoring with 12 points on five goals and two assists. PC also returns Marc Cintron (Piscataway, N.J.) who tallied two goals and four assists for eight points as a rookie. The Friars will rely on their senior leadership guided by senior co-captains Michael Pereira (London, Ontario) and Bryan Minogue (Miller Place, N.Y.).

The University of Rhode Island returns 17 players from last season's squad, including senior defender Dwayne Williams who was named to Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team as a junior. URI also returns Greg Balicki (four goals, one assist) and Thomas Lindroos (three goals, three assists) who finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring last season with nine points each. The Rams, who were picked to finish fourth out of 14 teams in the A-10 Preseason Coaches Poll, posted a 9-9-2 overall record and a 6-3-0 mark (fourth place) in the A-10 last season.

URI leads the all-time series against the Friars, 26-8-4. The last time the two teams faced each other was in 2007 when the Rams posted a 2-0 triumph in Kingston. PC and URI were scheduled to face each other in 2008 in Providence, but the match was cancelled because of inclement weather. The Friars' last win over the Rams came on September 9, 2003, a 2-1 decision in Providence. Of the Friars' eight all-time wins against the Rams, five have come in Kingston and three in Providence.