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Providence College Athletics
Men's Soccer BIG EAST Championship Notes
11/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2006
Providence College BIG EAST Championship Notes in PDF Format
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FRIARS TO FACE ST. JOHN'S IN BIG EAST SEMIFINALS... Providence College, seeded No. 4 in the BIG EAST Blue Division, will take on St. John's, seeded No. 3 in the BIG EAST Red Division, on Friday, November 3 at 3:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. The winner advances to the championship match to play the winner of the Rutgers/West Virginia game. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, November 5 at noon. It marks the third time in the last four seasons, including the last two years, that PC will play in the semifinals.
FRIARS ALL-TIME IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT... The Friars are making their eighth appearance all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament and their fourth in the last five years. Last season, the Friars advanced to the semifinals, where they tied USF, but did not advance as they lost in a penalty kick shootout. The Friars have posted a 4-6-3 all-time mark in the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 2-0-0 mark this season. Last season, the Friars defeated Cincinnati, 2-1, in the first round in Ohio. That win was PC's first BIG EAST Tournament victory since 1984.
FRIAR QUICK NOTES... The Friars have advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons, including the last two years. PC's two BIG EAST Tournament wins this season matches the number of victories the Friars had in their seven previous tournament appearances. PC is 3-0-2 in the last two seasons in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars have never played St. John's in the BIG EAST Championship. Providence is one win shy of tying a school record for most wins in one season (14 set in 1984). In addition, another victory would double PC's win total from last season. The Friars are 11-1 when scoring first this season. The Friars have allowed just one goal over the last four matches as they have recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time this season. On October 18, the Friars earned a crucial 1-0 win at Seton Hall, which guaranteed PC a fourth-place finish in the BIG EAST Blue Division. It marked PC's first triumph at Seton Hall since 1983. The Friars have posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1986-87. PC's seven BIG EAST wins this season set a school record.
FRIARS VERSUS ST. JOHN'S... In 19 all-time meetings between Providence College and St. John's, the Red Storm lead, 16-2-1. The two teams faced each other earlier this season on September 17 in Queens, N.Y. and the Red Storm came away with a 1-0 overtime victory as freshman Joel Gutafsson scored the match winner off a corner kick in the 95th minute. PC's last victory over St. John's was during the 1988 season. Last season, the two sides played to a scoreless draw in Providence, marking the lone tie in the series.
SCOUTING THE RED STORM... St. John's (11-5-2) enters Friday's match on a season best four match winning streak. In those four matches, the Red Storm have not yielded a goal. The Red Storm (11-5-2) recorded two wins last week to reach the semifinals. Freshman Ryan Soroka scored a first half goal, while junior goalkeeper Jason Landers stopped two shots to lead the Red Storm to a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh on October 25 in Queens, N.Y. in the BIG EAST Championship First Round. On October 29, the St. John's upset No. 21 Connecticut, 1-0, in Storrs, Conn. Soroka struck again for the Red Storm as he tallied his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the first half to guide St. John's into the semifinals. Landers made six saves as he earned his fourth consecutive shutout.
WHAT'S NEXT... The winner of Friday's semifinal match between Providence College and St. John's will advance to the championship match to play the winner of the West Virginia/Rutgers semifinal game. The BIG EAST championship match is scheduled for Sunday, November 5 at noon in Piscataway, N.J. The last time the Friars reached the final match of the BIG EAST Championship was in 1984 and were defeated, 1-0, by Connecticut.
FRIARS SCORE FIRST... In 12 of its first 18 matches this season, Providence College has scored first. Providence College is 11-1 when scoring first this season. Conversely, the Friars are 2-4 when they do not score first. Against Louisville on October 25, the Friars scored their fastest goal this season as Tim Ritter (Weston, Mass.) opened the scoring just 3:31 into the match. On October 28 against No. 15 Cincinnati, the Friars took a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute by virtue of an own goal.
SCORING SPURT... The Friars, who scored 27 goals in 20 matches last season, have already scored 31 goals through 18 contests this season. The PC record for most goals in one season is 60, which was established in 1983. In addition, the Friars already have 11 different goal scorers this season, two more than they had all of last season. The Friars also have seven players with two goals or more. Freshman Jonathan Medcalf (Tulsa, Okla.) leads the team in scoring with seven goals, while junior Alex Bury (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has five goals.
PC RANKED IN NATIONAL POLLS... Providence College climbed to No. 23 in the Soccer America national poll, No. 24 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 25 in the SoccerTimes.com Poll. It marks the first time this season that PC has been in the Soccer America top 25 poll and the SoccerTimes.com top 25 poll and the fifth consecutive week in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll.
FRIARS KNOCK OFF BEARCATS IN BIG EAST QUARTERS... The Friars defeated No. 15 Cincinnati, 2-0, in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals on October 28 in Cincinnati, Ohio. PC took a 1-0 lead by virtue of an own goal in the 31st minute. Freshman Jonathan Medcalf (Tulsa, Okla.) sealed the win with his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 81st minute. Sophomore Timothy Murray (Haverhill, Mass.) made nine saves to earn his first career shutout in his second career start. It marked the second consecutive season that PC ousted the Bearcats from the BIG EAST Championship. Last season, the Friars recorded a 2-1 triumph in a first round match in Cincinnati.
FRIARS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS... Providence has posted a 2-2 mark against ranked teams this season. Most recently, the Friars knocked off No. 15 Cincinnati, 2-0, on October 28. PC's other win against a ranked opponent came against 14th-ranked Brown University on October 10. The Friars also fell at No. 8 Notre Dame, 3-0, on October 14 and dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 4 West Virginia on October 21. Last season, the Friars recorded a 2-2-3 mark versus ranked opponents.
PC DEFEATS LOUISVILLE IN BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND... Sophomore Tim Ritter (Weston, Mass.) scored early in the match and junior Ryan Maduro (Bristol, R.I.) added a goal and an assist as the Friars defeated Louisville, 2-0, Wednesday afternoon in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Ritter scored his fourth goal of the season just 3:31 into the match, while Maduro capped the win with his third tally of the season at 89:30. In goal, senior Chris Konopka (Toms River, N.J.) made six saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season.
FRIARS ON THE ROAD... Providence is 6-2 away from home this season. Most recently, the Friars posted a 2-0 win at No. 15 Cincinnati on October 28 in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. Prior to that, PC earned a 1-0 win at Seton Hall on October 18. PC's two road losses were at St. John's (1-0 on Sep. 17) and at No. 8 Notre Dame (3-0 on Oct. 14). Last season, PC recorded a 4-3-6 mark on the road.
BURY'S WINNERS... Of Alex Bury's career-high five goals this season, three have been match winners. Bury scored in PC's 1-0 win at Seton Hall on October 18. He also scored in overtime to lead PC to a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on October 7. Bury's other game winner came in a 3-1 win over Villanova as he converted a penalty kick.
SET PIECE SPECIALIST... Friar junior Alex Bury (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has scored three of his five goals off set plays. On August 28, Bury scored on a direct free kick from 20 yards out against the University of Rhode Island. On September 8, Bury converted a penalty kick in a BIG EAST opening victory over Villanova. His goal proved to be the match winner. He also scored on a direct free kick from 18 yards out in a 2-0 triumph over Rutgers on September 10. He ranks second on the team in scoring.
MEDCALF LEADING PC IN SCORING... Freshman forward Jonathan Medcalf (Tulsa, Okla.) leads the Friars in scoring with seven goals. Medcalf's seven goals marks the most by a Friar freshman since Eoin Lynch `06 scored eight times during his rookie year in 2002. Medcalf has been named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week twice this season, tying Notre Dame's Michael Thomas for most rookie of the week accolades. He scored the game-winners in consecutive victories over Marquette and Holy Cross. Against the Crusaders on September 26, he scored with less than five minutes remaining to help PC to a 3-2 win. At Marquette on September 23, Medcalf scored the lone goal in a BIG EAST win over the Golden Eagles. Most recently, Medcalf scored in PC's 2-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal victory at No. 15 Cincinnati on October 28. He ranks tied for sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring.
KONOPKA LEADING THE WAY IN GOAL FOR PC... Friar senior goalkeeper Chris Konopka (Toms River, N.J.) has started 16 of the 18 matches this season. He has a 0.87 goals against average, a .806 save percentage and six shutouts. Last season, he played 2020:38 and set a Friar record for most minutes played in one season. He is in the top five at PC with 48 games played and a 1.15 goals against average.
FRIARS NOT WORKING OVERTIME THIS SEASON... After playing in a NCAA record 12 overtime matches and also recording a NCAA mark of nine ties last season, the Friars have played in just two overtime matches this season (a 1-0 loss at St. John's on Sep. 17 and a 2-1 win versus Pittsburgh on Oct. 7). Providence also came close to going into overtime against the Syracuse Orange on September 14, but sophomore Kevin Neumen (Miller Place, N.Y.) scored the match-winning tally with three seconds left in regulation to lift PC to a 3-2 win.
PC FRESHMEN MAKING IMPACT... The Friar freshmen have played a key role on the team this season. Jonathan Medcalf (Tulsa, Okla.) has played in 17 matches and leads the team in scoring with seven goals. Backs Justin Kahle (Oceanport, N.J.) and Issam Sawtarie (Bethany, W. Va.) have each started all 18 matches for PC. Kahle is tied for the team lead with five assists, while Sawtarie has one assist. Ben Wexler (Minnetonka, Minn.) has played in 10 games and has one goal, while Toussaint McClure (Atlanta, Ga.) has played in 10 matches and has one assist.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER... The Friars finished the 2005 season with a 7-4-9 mark, which represented a 9.5 game improvement from 2004 and the 10th best turnaround in NCAA history. The Friars also advanced to the conference semifinal of the BIG EAST tournament, for the second time in three years, where they tied nationally ranked USF before being eliminated in a penalty kick shootout. PC then earned its second ever NCAA Tournament playoff berth, and first ever NCAA tournament victory by beating 13th ranked Hofstra University. However, their season came to an end when the team was defeated in the second round by the second ranked team in the NCAA tournament, the North Carolina Tar Heels.
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