Nov. 11, 2009

Providence Games Notes in PDF Format | Championship Central | Live Stats

PROVIDENCE SOCCER RETURNS TO BIG EAST SEMIFINALS... No. 5 seed Providence College will face No. 2 seed St. John’s in the BIG EAST Semifinals on Friday, November 13 at 3:00 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va. No. 1 seed Louisville and No. 2 seed Notre Dame will square off in the second semifinal match at 5:30 p.m. It will mark the seventh appearance for the Friars in the BIG EAST Semifinals, including the second in the last four years.

WHAT’S NEXT... The winner of Friday’s St. John’s/Providence match will advance to the championship game to face the winner of the Louisville/Notre Dame contest. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, November 15 at noon at Dick Dlesk Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.

FRIARS ALL-TIME IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP... The Friars are making their 11th appearance all-time in the BIG EAST Championship, including five-consecutive seasons. Providence has posted a 7-9-3 all-time mark in the BIG EAST Championship, including a 6-3-2 record in the last five years. The Friars have made the BIG EAST semifinals seven times, and made one appearance in the tournament game (1-0 loss to UConn in 1984). This season, the Friars have a 2-0 record in the championship, with a 2-1 win at Villanova on November 3 and a 1-0 overtime victory at Connecticut on November 7.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS ST. JOHN’S... In 24 all-time meetings between Providence and St. John’s, the Red Storm lead 19-2-3, including a 2-0 mark in the BIG EAST Championship. In their lone meeting in the semifinals, St. John’s defeated Providence, 2-0, on November 3, 2006 to advance to the championship match in which it defeated West Virginia, 1-0. Last season, the Red Storm eliminated the Friars in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 overtime win in New York. Earlier this season, Providence and St. John’s played to a 0-0 double overtime tie at Glay Field in Providence, R.I. The Friars are seeking their first win over St. John’s since the 1988 season.

PROVIDENCE QUICK NOTES... • Providence is making its seventh trip to the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals and the first since 2006 ... Providence has won five consecutive matches for the first time since the 1984 season. Four of the five straight wins have been on the road, including a 1-0 overtime victory against No. 8 Connecticut on Saturday, November 7 in Storrs, Conn. ... During the five-game winning streak, the Friars have outscored opponents, 7-2, and have won three overtime games ... The Friars’ win at No. 8 Connecticut on Saturday was their first in Storrs since 1984 ... Providence’s 10 wins this season marks the most since the 2006 season when they finished with 13 ... Six of Providence’s 10 wins have been on the road this season ... Providence is in the midst of its fifth consecutive winning season, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1983-87 ... Providence finished the BIG EAST schedule with a 5-4-2 mark which was good for fifth place in the Blue Division.

LAST TIME OUT... In its last game, Providence defeated No. 8 Connecticut, 1-0, in overtime in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals at Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn. The victory marked the fifth consecutive for the Friars and their fourth straight on the road. With 2:06 left in overtime, junior Matt Marcin (Wilmington, Del.) scored off a cross from sophomore John Raley (St. Inigoes, Md.) as the Friars avenged an earlier season 4-0 loss at Connecticut. PC goalkeeper Timothy Murray (Haverhill, Mass.) made three saves as he earned his ninth shutout of the season.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN’S... The Red Storm enter Friday’s semifinal match on an 11-game unbeaten streak (6-0-5) which began with a 0-0 overtime tie at Providence on September 27. St. John’s has not lost a game since September 25 when it was defeated, 2-0, at Connecticut. Most recently, the Red Storm defeated Rutgers, 3-0, in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals on Saturday, November 7. Kyle Hoffer, John Tardy and Nelson Beccera each scored for St. John’s. Sverre Wegge Gundghus leads the team in scoring with five goals and seven assists, while Tadeu Terra is second with five goals and two assists. Derby Carrillo has played in all 18 games and has yielded just 10 goals for a 0.50 goals against average.

ROAD SUCCESS... Providence finished the regular season by winning two overtime games on the road and also posted two victories in the BIG EAST Championship (2-1 win at Villanova in the first round and a 1-0 overtime win at Connecticut in the quarterfinals). It marks the first time ever that PC has won two road games in the BIG EAST Championship in one season. The triumph at Villanova was the first road win for Providence in the BIG EAST Championship since 2006 when the Friars defeated Cincinnati, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. In addition, they finished with a 3-3 record in BIG EAST road contests. The Friars have allowed just two goals in the last four matches. Last season, Providence posted a 1-6-2 mark on the road with the lone win coming at Marquette. The Friars are 6-4 in matches away from Glay Field this season marking the most road wins since 2006 when the Friars finished with a 6-3 record away from home en route to 13 wins and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

MARCIN NAMED NSCAA AND CSN PLAYER OF THE WEEK... Matt Marcin was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and College Soccer News (CSN) National Player of the Week earlier this week. Tim Ritter also earned the NSCAA Player of the Week last week marking the first time in the four-year history of the award that a school has earned the award for two consecutive weeks. Marcin led Providence to a pair of wins in the BIG EAST Championship last week. On Wednesday, November 4, Marcin scored the game-winning goal with 2:45 remaining in the second half as the Friars defeated Villanova, 2-1, in first round action. Marcin’s goal completed the comeback for the Friars, who trailed, 1-0, at halftime. On Saturday, November 7, he scored the lone goal of the match in overtime to lead fifth-seeded Providence to a 1-0 victory at No. 8 and top-seed Connecticut in the quarterfinals. Marcin leads the Friars in scoring with a career-high five goals and also has two assists.

HIGHLIGHT REEL GOALS... In the recent matches at Georgetown and at Villanova, Providence scored two highlight reel goals. On Saturday, October 31, junior Andrew Sousa (Fall River, Mass.) ripped a shot from 30 yards out that ended up in the upper right corner of the net to give PC a 1-0 halftime lead. The Friars went on to win the game, 2-1, in overtime against Georgetown. The highlights continued on Wednesday, November 4 when Matt Marcin scored from 35 yards out. With his back towards the Villanova net, Marcin took the ball off his chest, turned and blasted a shot into the upper left corner of the net with 2:45 left in the second half to give the Friars a lead (2-1) they would not relinquish.

STINGY DEFENSE... Providence ranks sixth in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference in goals allowed. The Friars have allowed 17 goals in 19 matches and boast a 0.83 goals against average. PC has held opponents scoreless in nine of the 19 matches.

PROVIDENCE AGAINST NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS... Providence has posted a 1-3-1 record against ranked teams this season. The Friars earned their first win over a ranked team on Saturday, November 7 as they eliminated No. 8 Connecticut from the BIG EAST Championship with a 1-0 overtime win. On September 7, the Friars were defeated at No. 14 Boston University, 3-0. The Friars also tied No. 18 St. John’s, 0-0, on September 27. In addition, PC was defeated by No. 13 UConn and No. 11 Harvard. Last season, the Friars posted a 3-5 record against ranked teams, including a 1-0 victory against fourth-ranked Boston College.

IRON MAN... Providence senior defender Justin Kahle (Oceanport, N.J.) has played in every minute of every match at Providence College. Kahle, a tri-captain this season, has been a mainstay in the Friar lineup as he has played in 77 consecutive games for a total of 7195:06.

WORKING OVERTIME... The Friars have played in nine overtime matches, including six double overtime contests this season. Most recently, Providence defeated No. 8 UConn, 1-0, in Storrs, Conn. on Saturday, November 7. Providence has posted a 4-2-3 record in overtime games, including two road overtime wins at West Virginia (1-0 on October 28) and at Georgetown (2-1 on October 31) to complete the regular season schedule. All four of the Friars’ overtime games have come away from Glay Field. Last season, the Friars recorded a 0-2-3 mark in five overtime matches.

MURRAY RACKING UP THE SHUTOUTS... Providence goalkeeper Tim Murray has recorded nine shutouts in 18 games in 2009. He has allowed 16 goals in 18 games this season and has a 0.84 goals against average. The nine clean sheets rank him tied for fourth in the BIG EAST. In addition, Murray has 27 career shutouts, which is a Providence College record.

CLUTCH GOALS... Tim Ritter and Matt Marcin have accounted for nine of Providence’s 10 game-winning goals. Ritter leads the BIG EAST Conference with five game-winning goals, while Marcin is tied for second with four match winners. During PC’s five-game winning streak, Marcin has scored three game winners, while Ritter has two.

RITTER MOVING UP THE PROVIDENCE SCORING CHART... Tim Ritter has 19 goals and 14 assists for 52 career points at Providence College. The 52 points ranks tied for seventh all-time at Providence, while the 19 goals are the ninth best mark in PC soccer history. This season, Ritter is tied for the team lead with five goals.