Men's Lacrosse Travels to Rhode Island to Take On First Place Providence

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Men's Lacrosse Travels to Rhode Island to Take On First Place Providence

Saint Joseph's Hawks (4-5, 2-1 MAAC) vs. Providence Friars (4-4, 3-0 MAAC)

April 2, 2009

Game Notes

PHILADELPHIA--The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad will take on Providence at the Friar Lacrosse and Field Hockey Complex on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. SJU enters the game 4-5 overall, 2-1 in the MAAC after a 9-6 win over VMI last week, while the Friars are 4-4 overall and 3-0 in the MAAC after a 5-4 win at home against Canisius.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks
(4-5; 2-1 MAAC)
at
Providence Friars
(4-4; 3-0 MAAC)

Game #10 • April 4, 2009 • Friar Lacrosse Complex • Providence, R.I.

GAME DAY
VENUE (CAPACITY): Friar Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex (1,000)
SURFACE: AstroTurf
RADIO: None
AUDIO/VIDEO STREAMING: Friars.com All-Access Video
SERIES RECORD VS. PC: Providence leads 8-6
HAWKS’ NEXT GAME: April 11 vs. Manhattan Jaspers, 1:00 p.m. at Finnesey Field

GAME STORIES
• Saint Joseph’s is looking for its first three-game winning streak since a four-game stretch in 2007.
• Providence seeks its ninth win in 11 tries against the Hawks.
• Two top defenses square off led by goalkeepers Erik Hotaling (8.08 GAA, 12 saves per game) and Robert Bryan (4.24 GAA, 11.67 spg). Hotaling has won MAAC Defensive Player of the Week twice, Bryan is reigning honoree for this week.
• Sean Evans (23 points), Charlie Gorman (16), and Scott Cullinan (14) are the offensive leaders for the Hawks.
• Three defenders recorded points against VMI–Tom Wengenosky, Pat Williams, and Rob Saraceni.

LAST TIME OUT: SJU scored nine of the first 11 goals of the game, cruising to a 9-6 win over VMI on Saturday. Sean Evans led the way with two goals and two assists and Charlie Gorman chipped in with a pair of tallies and an assist. Erik Hotaling made 12 saves, allowing just five goals for the Hawks’ second MAAC win.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSE: Three long sticks got into the scoring act against VMI providing an unexpected spark to the SJU offense. Tom Wengenosky and Rob Saraceni made coast-to-coast runs cutting through the Keydets’ defense to score goals. Wengenosky was credited with the game-winning tally, the first of his career. Pat Williams also found away into the scoring ledger when he made a long clearing pass to Charlie Gorman who one-timed it into the back of the net for SJU.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS: Providence enters Saturday’s game on a three-game Conference winning streak after downing Canisius, 5-4 at the Friar Lacrosse Complex last weekend. Led by Bobb Labadini’s 18 goals and 29 points, the Friars have used a potent one-two punch adding Colin Tigh’s 12 goals and seven assists to the mix. Strong defense has kept their opponents off-kilter as Robert Bryan, reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Week, has allowed just 8.4 goals per outing and a 5.93 save percentage in eight starts.

FRIAR IT UP: After a tough 22-3 loss to #2 Syracuse to begin the season, the PC offense has stayed consistent, scoring at least five goals in every game since then, but never scoring more than 12 as it did against Wagner. The previous high was 10 in an 11-10 overtime loss at Yale.

COMMON ENEMIES: Saint Joseph’s lost to Hobart, 12-7, while PC found a similar result in an 8-6 loss. Both teams hung with the Statesmen until the fourth period, which saw Hobart pull away. The Friars defeated VMI, 7-6, in Virginia (SJU beat VMI, 9-6) while edging Canisius, 5-4 (SJU beat CC, 7-6, in Buffalo).

MAN-UP VS. MAN-DOWN: The Hawks enter today’s game second in the conference in penalty-killing situations, going 28-for-34 (.824). Providence is second in the league in man-up scoring, going 10-for-31 (.323). Conversely, SJU is second-to-last in man-up scoring (6-for-33, .182) and Providence is second-to-last in penalty-killing (13-for-30, .567).

SERIES HISTORY

SAINT JOSEPH’S vs. PROVIDENCE

All-Time Series: PC leads 8-6
SJU Streak: 2 losses
First Meeting: 4/19/97, SJU 13-10
Last Meeting: 4/12/08, PC 5-4
Last SJU Win: 3/31/07, 7-6
Last PC Win: 4/12/08, 5-4
Coach Cullinan vs. PC: 1-4

Providence has won eight of the last 10 meetings going back to 2001...During that span PC has gone 2-1 in overtime...Six of the last 10 meetings have been decided by just one goal...SJU is 5-3 all-time at Providence.

Last 5 Games
4/12/08 L, 6-7   H
5/6/07 L, 4-9    N    MAAC Final
3/31/07 W, 7-6   A
3/18/06 L, 7-8 2OT H
4/9/05 L, 5-6 OT A

STILL MISSING: Dan Marroccoli, a starting defensemen, was hurt in the Lehigh game. Joining him on the injured list are Chad Dudley, Dean Bellos, and Bobby Hurley. Dudley and Hurley have yet to make an appearance this season, while Bellos hasn’t been available since the Delaware game. Chris O’Neill has been out for three games in Conference play.

FIRST MAAC WIN: The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team took out the Canisius Griffins, 7-6, on Saturday at Demske Sports Complex. Charlie Gorman scored three times and Erik Hotaling made 10 saves to fend off a late Griffs rally. Saint Joseph's jumped on Canisius early as Joey D'Avanzo and Tom Dunn gave SJU a quick 2-0 lead. The Hawks would lead wire-to-wire. In the pivitol fourth period, Saint Joseph's clung onto a tenuous 5-4 lead. Dunn added his second goal of the day 2:16 into the period to double the lead. Scott Cullinan scored his only goal of the game came just 4:39 later on a Sean Evans' assisted marker. Cullinan's tally gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game.

HAWKS SUFFER THREE-GAME SKID: The Hawks couldn’t come all the way back against Bellarmine in an 8-7 loss to the Knights at Franklin Field. Erik Hotaling made 16 saves to keep the Hawks in the game. Sean Evans scored a natural hat trick in the fourth to shave a seven-goal Drexel advantage to four, but SJU could get no closer in an 8-4 loss to the Dragons. The Hawks then opened MAAC play at Siena, allowing the Saints to blow open a 4-3 lead to a 13-4 final score line.

HISTORIC WIN AGAINST RUTGERS: SJU earned its first victory over an ECAC opponent when the Hawks defeated Rutgers, 10-7 on February 28. Saint Joseph’s used a 4-1 scoring advantage in the second half to break a 6-6 deadlock with the Scarlet Knights. It was the first win over Rutgers in six tries as Charlie Gorman led the Hawks with two goals and two assists. Additionally, Scott Cullinan registered three tallies and Erik Hotaling made nine saves to preserve the win for Saint Joseph’s, which helped Hotaling earn MAAC Defensive Player of the Week.

BEST TRANSFERS: As named by Christian Swezey of Inside Lacrosse, Charlie Gorman was announced as the “Best D-III to D-I Transfer” last week for his four-point effort against the Scarlet Knights. Gorman, who spent two years at Dickinson, also provided the game-tying goal at Lehigh. Sean Evans, the team’s leader in scoring, is a transfer as well arriving on Hawk Hill via Towson in 2008.

EARLY NON-CONFERENCE WRAP: The Hawks are 2-4 in their non-conference slate and have just one game left, a road trip to Penn State on April 25. Saint Joseph’s openen the season with a 13-2 loss at Delaware but bounced back nicely with a come-from-behind victory at Lehigh. Sean Evans struck for the game-winner with 34 seconds remaining in the game. Erik Hotaling’s 13 saves earned him MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. Against Hobart, SJU couldn’t hang with the Statesmen, who are now ranked nationally, in the fourth period and would fall, 12-7. The two non-conference wins are the most since 2000.

“MR. CLUTCH”: For his efforts, Sean Evans earned MAAC Offensive Player of the Week and earned recognition by Inside Lacrosse as last week’s “Mr. Clutch.” Evans is responsible for three of the Hawks last five game-winning goals.

NEXT TIME OUT: Saint Joseph’s will return home to take on Manhattan at 1:00 p.m. on Finnesey Field.

SERIES HISTORY

Last 5 Games
4/12/08 L, 6-7   H
5/6/07 L, 4-9    N    MAAC Final
3/31/07 W, 7-6   A
3/18/06 L, 7-8 2OT H
4/9/05 L, 5-6 OT A