Nov. 17, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
| GAMETRACKER | Interactive Bracket
PROVIDENCE HOST FIRST-EVER NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCH... Providence College will host St. Peter’s College in the NCAA Championship First Round on Thursday, November 18 at 1:00 p.m. at Glay Field. It will mark the first-ever NCAA Tournament match played at Glay Field.
FRIARS EARN NCAA TOURNAMENT AT-LARGE BID... Providence earned its fifth overall NCAA Tournament berth and the fourth in the last six seasons under Head Coach Chaka Daley. The Friars’ last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2007 when they were defeated at Old Dominion, 1-0, in the first round. The 2007 NCAA Tournament berth was the third consecutive for the Friars as they also earned bids in 2005 and 2006. Prior to 2005, PC had not made the NCAA Tournament since 1983. PC was one of 48 teams selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament and one of 26 squads to receive an at-large bid.
WHAT’S NEXT... The winner of Thursday’s game will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face No. 16 seed Ohio State on Sunday, November 21 at 1:00 p.m. in the second round.
FRIAR QUICK NOTES... • Thursday’s game will mark the first-ever meeting between Providence and St. Peter’s. • Providence is on a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2), its longest stretch without a loss since the 2005 season. The 2005 team started the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak (4-0-5). • In the Friars’ current nine-game unbeaten streak, they recorded seven consecutive wins for the first time since 1984. • The last time the Friars had a 10-game unbeaten streak was in 1984 as they posted a 9-0-1 mark. • The Friars are 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with the win coming at Hofstra in 2005. • The Friars posted a 3-0-1 record in the BIG EAST Championship and advanced to the final for the second time in school history (1984 was the other). PC tied No. 1 Louisville, 1-1, in double overtime, but the Cardinals claimed the BIG EAST title with a 3-2 penalty kick shootout win. • Providence has recorded an 8-4-3 mark in the BIG EAST Championship in the last six years. • Providence is in the midst of their sixth consecutive-winning season, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1982-87.
PROVIDENCE REACHES BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP... Making its second-ever appearance in the BIG EAST Championship match, Providence played No. 1 Louisville to a 1-1 double overtime draw, but the Cardinals captured the title with a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks on Sunday, November 14. The Friars trailed, 1-0, and were on the brink of losing their first game in over one month, but senior Matt Marcin (Wilmington, Del.) converted a penalty kick in the 89th minute to even the score and force overtime. Red-shirt junior goalkeeper Jhojan Obando (Kissimmee, Fla.) made a career-high 12 saves. Louisville went on to capture the penalty kick shootout and its first BIG EAST title. Obando, Marcin, seniors Bryan Minogue (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Andrew Sousa (Fall River, Mass.) were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
PROVIDENCE UPSETS GEORGETOWN IN QUARTERFINALS... The Friars continued their impressive late-season run on Saturday, November 6, as they upset top seed and No. 25/20 nationally ranked Georgetown, 2-1, in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals in Washington, D.C. Junior Giuseppe Guerriero (Essex, Mass.) scored early in the second half to give the Friars a 1-0 lead, but the Hoyas tied the game in the 78th minute. Providence responded with 6:45 remaining when sophomore Marc Cintron (Piscataway, N.J.) scored from 12 yards out to seal the team’s second-consecutive trip to the BIG EAST Championship. Obando made five saves, including several from point-blank range.
SCOUTING ST. PETER’S... St. Peter’s (13-5-1) is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance and the first since 2007. The Peacocks are coming off a 2-1 victory over Iona in the MAAC Championship match on Sunday, November 14 in Baltimore, Md. Mauricio Jimenez’s goal in the 60th minute gave the Peacocks a 2-0 lead and it proved to be the match winner. It marked St. Peter’s second MAAC Tournament title. Lebo Pila was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Harry Newman (eight goals, six assists) and Pila (seven goals, eight assists) are tied for the team lead with 22 points each. Carlos Suarez and Tyler Clarhaut have split time in net for the Peacocks and have combined for a 1.01 goals against average and a .794 save percentage.
AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS... Providence and St. Peter’s have played against one common opponent this season. St. Peter’s was defeated, 1-0, at home by Seton Hall on September 28. Providence posted a 2-1 victory at Seton Hall on October 27.
SEVEN BIG EAST TEAMS EARN NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTHS... The BIG EAST Conference has seven teams in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any other conference. Louisville earned the automatic berth and is the No. 1 overall seed, while Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, Notre Dame, USF and West Virginia earned at-large berths. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big Ten had five each, while the Ivy League and Conference USA have four teams among the 48. Out west, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) has three squads in the NCAAs.
PROVIDENCE AT HOME... Thursday’s game will mark the first home match for the Friars since October 30 when they posted a 1-0 win over West Virginia. Providence is 5-3-0 at home this season, including two consecutive wins at Glay Field. The Friars are 3-0 at home against non-conference teams.
PENALTY KICK SHOOTOUT EXPERIENCE... Providence has played in two tournaments this season in which a penalty kick shootout was needed to determine the champion. Most recently, the Friars fell, 3-2, in a penalty shootout to No. 1 Louisville in the BIG EAST Championship final after playing the Cardinals to a 1-1 double overtime draw. Earlier this season, the Friars were on the winning side of a shootout (5-4) as they captured the inaugural Ocean State Soccer Classic against Brown University on September 6.
PROVIDENCE ALL-TIME AGAINST THE MAAC... The Friars have posted a 27-4-2 all-time record against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Friars are 15-3-2 all-time against Fairfield, 11-0 against Iona, 0-1 against Loyola and 1-0 versus Manhattan. The last time the Friars faced a MAAC team was in 2000 as Fairfield posted a 3-2 victory in Fairfield, Conn.
CINTRON PROVIDING A HELPING HAND... Marc Cintron leads the Friars with 10 assists this season, which is two shy of tying the Providence College single-season record that was set in 1982 by Art Podgorski. In addition, Cintron ranks second on the team with 14 points. Cintron recorded two assists in wins at Villanova (11/3) and at Seton Hall (10/27). He scored the game-winning goal late in the match and added one assist to lead his team to a 2-1 win at Georgetown in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. For his efforts, Cintron was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on November 7. Most recently, Cintron recorded an assist in the eventual game-winning goal against Cincinnati in the BIG EAST Semifinals.
MARCIN ON THE MARK AGAIN... Matt Marcin, who finished the 2009 season with a team best 12 points on five goals and two assists, leads the team with a career-high eight goals and 19 points in 2010. Most recently, he scored the game-tying goal against No. 1 Louisville on Sunday, November 14 at Red Bull Arena. In addition, Marcin had four game-winning goals last season and has the same amount of match winners this season, including two in the Friars’ recent nine-game unbeaten streak.
PROVIDENCE OFFENSIVE NUMBERS HIGHEST SINCE 2006... The Friars have scored 26 goals this year, the most scored by a Providence team since the 2006 season when they had 31 goals. In their nine-game unbeaten streak, the Friars have scored 15 goals. In addition, Providence has tallied eight goals in four post-season games.
MARCIN MOVING UP THE PROVIDENCE SCORING CHART... Matt Marcin has 20 goals and eight assists for 48 career points. The 20 goals are tied for eighth all-time at Providence, while the 48 points rank 10th. He has led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons.
DOUBLE OVERTIME WIN MARKED THE START OF WIN STREAK... Providence’s season long seven-game win streak began with a 1-0 double overtime victory at Marquette on Wednesday, October 20. Junior Giuseppe Guerriero (Essex, Mass.), who has battled injuries most of this season, scored the match winner with 1:51 remaining in double overtime, while Jhojan Obando made seven saves to lead the Friars.
MARCIN NAMED TO ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM... Matt Marcin was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team on Thursday, November 11. Marcin became only the second Providence men’s soccer player ever to earn All-BIG EAST First Team honors. Ryan Maduro also did it in 2006 and 2007. In nine BIG EAST Conference games, Marcin finished tied for the team lead with three goals and one assist for seven points. He scored the game-winning goal against Pittsburgh on October 24 and against West Virginia on October 30.
OBANDO LEADING THE WAY IN GOAL... Jhojan Obando, who is in his first season as the starting goalkeeper, has played in every game for the Friars this season. He ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in goals against average (0.96), fifth in save percentage (.829) and first in saves per game (4.85). He made a career-high 12 stops in a 1-1 double overtime tie against No. 1 Louisville in the BIG EAST Championship match on Sunday, November 14. He also posted shutout wins against Sacred Heart (four saves) on September 15 and Quinnipiac (three saves) on September 18. In all, he has six clean sheets. Most recently, Obando recorded shutouts against West Virginia (10/30) and at Villanova (11/3). He was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on two occasions (10/25 and 11/1).
FRIARS RANKED IN TWO POLLS... Providence College is ranked No. 20 in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll and No. 19 according to the Soccer America Top 25 Poll which were released on November 16. It marks the first time since September 24, 2008 that the Friars have been ranked in the NSCAA Poll. In addition, the Friars climbed from No. 25 to No. 19 in the Soccer America Poll.
PROVIDENCE ON THE ROAD... Providence has posted a 6-2-2 road record this season, including a 4-0-1 mark in the last four matches away from Glay Field. The Friars are also 1-0-1 when playing at a neutral venue, defeating Cincinnati, 2-1, in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals and tying Louisville, 1-1, in double overtime in the BIG EAST Finals. PC has recorded road wins at Northeastern, Harvard, Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova and most recently versus Georgetown. PC also played Brown to a scoreless double overtime draw.
Bryan Minogue EARNS COSIDA/ESPN ACADEMIC HONORS... Senior Bryan Minogue was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN Academic All-District 1 Second Team on November 2. Minogue joined the Providence team as a walk-on in 2007 and was named team tri-captain in 2010. The finance major with a 3.75 cumulative grade point average, has played in 40 career games and started 38, including 12 matches this season. In 2008, Minogue scored the game winner against Villanova in the BIG EAST Championship First Round. Last season, he received the College’s Joseph V. McAndrew Award, given annually to the Providence College student-athlete who has achieved an outstanding level of performance in academics and athletics. He also earned the BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Award.
