2003 Men's Lacrosse Season In Review

May 8, 2003

The Providence College men's lacrosse team had yet another impressive season in 2003 as part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Friars finished the 2003 campaign with a 7-9 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the MAAC. Providence earned its highest finish ever in league play (tied for first), and earned a share of the MAAC regular-season title. The Friars' seven wins also marked the highest win total in league play for any Providence team in the College's eight-year affiliation with the MAAC.

The start of the 2003 schedule was hampered by poor weather, and forced the Friars to play their first two games at neutral sites. On March 1, Providence opened the season against Albany on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. The Friars fell to the eventual 2003 NCAA participants, 10-7. On March 12, the Friars opened their MAAC schedule against Siena at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. PC earned a 10-3 victory over the Saints, evening its overall record to 1-1 (1-0 MAAC).

The Friars finally got the nod to return to Glay Field in Providence, R.I., where they hosted Fairfield in non-conference action on March 23. The Stags took a 10-6 victory, and Providence went on to lose its next two games at Harvard (8-3) on March 25 and at home versus Vermont (6-4) on March 29.

Providence snapped its three-game losing streak with a, 5-4, overtime victory over Canisius in MAAC play on March 31 in Providence, R.I. With the victory, the Friars improved to 2-4 overall and 2-0 in the MAAC.

On April 2, the Friars dropped a 5-4 decision to Hartford in non-conference action in Providence, R.I. The Friars rebounded to earn a 6-5 win over VMI on April 5 in Lexington, Va. to remain undefeated in the MAAC with a 3-0 mark, and improve to 3-5 overall.

On April 10, PC was defeated, 10-6, in non-conference play by Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. The Friars followed the loss with their fourth-straight MAAC win over Marist (6-3) in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on April 12 and improved to 4-6 overall and 4-0 in the league.

On April 14, Providence was handed its first loss in the Conference as Mount St. Mary's earned a 14-11 victory over the Friars in Providence, R.I. However, the squad bounced back to take two-straight wins in league play to secure a 6-7 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the MAAC.

Prior to the Friars' final conference match-up of the season, PC fell to cross-town rival Brown, 11-5, at Stevenson Field on the campus of Brown University (Providence, R.I.). On April 26, PC defeated St. Joseph's, 9-3, in Providence, R.I. to clinch a share of the MAAC Regular-Season Title and the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament.

The Friars finished the regular-season schedule with a 7-8 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the MAAC. PC earned the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championship Tournament and faced No. 3 seed St. Joseph's in the semifinals on Friday, May 2 at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Friars fell to the Hawks, 12-11, in overtime. Junior defensman Brian O'Rorke (Montclair, N.Y.) was selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Prior to the MAAC Tournament, the league announced the 2003 All-MAAC selections at the Championship banquet on Thursday, May 1 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. O'Rorke earned Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-MAAC honors for the second-straight season. Senior midfielder Skip Dunphy (Manhasset, N.Y.) also earned First-Team honors for the first time in his four-year career. Sophomore midfielder Frank Bosco (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) and sophomore goaltender Andrew McMinn (Pittsburgh, Pa.) were named to the Second Team. Also earning recognition at the banquet were six Friars who earned MAAC All-Academic honors. Senior defenseman Matt Berk (Glencoe, Ill.) earned MAAC All-Academic honors for the third-straight season, while junior Kevin Kornobis (Merrick, N.Y.) took home the honors for the second time in his career. Junior Ryan Russell (Montvale, N.J.) and sophomores Bosco, Mark Rotella (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Richard Knightly (Windsor, Mass.) also earned MAAC All-Academic accolades.

In addition to the post-season MAAC awards, Rotella was selected to attend the seventh annual NCAA Leadership Foundation Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on May 25-29. Rotella was one of 273 student-athletes selected to attend the Conference out of 1,172 nominees and 302 NCAA institutions.

Sophomore first-year player John Hollister (Longmeadow, Mass.) led the Friars in scoring and was tied for first on the team in assists with 27 points and 14 assists. He was tied for third on the team in goals with 13. Senior Jon Meehan (Peabody, Mass.) finished second on the team in scoring with 25 points with seven assists and a team-leading 18 goals. Dunphy was third in scoring with 24 points on 13 goals and 11 assists. He became the 17th player in PC men's lacrosse history to score 100 points in his career on April 10 versus Holy Cross. Dunphy finished his career with 66 goals and 51 assists for a total of 117 career points. He leaves Providence College ranked 10th all-time at PC in scoring (117 points), 13th all-time in career goals (66) and tied for ninth all-time in career assists (51).

Junior David Krasnica (Mendham, N.J.) finished fourth on the squad in scoring with 24 points. He registered 11 goals and finished tied for the team lead in assists with Hollister (14). Russell rounded out the top-five scorers on the team with 17 points on 16 goals and one assist.

McMinn finished the season with a 7-7 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the MAAC. He played a total of 893 minutes between the pipes and recorded 158 saves, while he allowed just 103 goals. McMinn led all MAAC goaltenders in save percentage (.605) and goals against average (6.92). During the regular-season, he posted a 4.99 goals against average and a .667 save percentage versus MAAC opponents. McMinn also ranked in the top-five in each category among all NCAA Division I goaltenders throughout the season.

2003 MEN'S LACROSSE HONORS AND AWARDS

MATT BERKMAAC All-Academic TeamMal Brown Award

FRANK BOSCOSecond-Team All-MAACMAAC All-Academic Team

SKIP DUNPHYFirst-Team All-MAAC

RICHARD KNIGHTLYMAAC All-Academic Team

KEVIN KORNOBISMAAC All-Academic Team

DAVID KRASNICAMAAC Offensive Player of the Week (4/28/03)

ANDREW McMINNSecond-Team All-MAACMAAC Goaltender of the Week (4/08/03, 4/28/03)

BRIAN O'RORKEMAAC Defensive Player of the YearFirst-Team All-MAACMAAC Championship All-Tournament TeamFace-Off Magazine Preseason Conference Player to WatchFace-Off Magazine Preseason Honorable Mention All-American

MARK ROTELLAMAAC All-Academic Team2003 NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference (Providence College Representative)

RYAN RUSSELLMAAC All-Academic Team

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at RV/#19 Fairfield on March 1, 2025 , Loss , 7, to, 15

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Loyola (Md.) on March 8, 2025 , Win , 12, to, 11

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #6/#8 Duke on March 12, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 16

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #18/#19 Saint Joseph's on March 22, 2025 , Loss , 8, to, 16

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #17/#15 Georgetown on March 29, 2025 , Loss , 13, to, 14

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Villanova on April 5, 2025 , Loss , 8, to, 11

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Marquette on April 12, 2025 , Win , 14, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at #16/#16 Denver on April 19, 2025 , Win , 10, to, 6

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus St. John's on April 25, 2025 , Win , 16, to, 10

Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus No. 2 Villanova on May 1, 2025 , Loss , 14, to, 16

Providence College Athletics

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