Bulldogs drop overtime heartbreaker to No. 7 Providence, 2-1, Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite taking the first lead of the game in the 62nd minute, the Bryant University men's soccer team opened its season with a heartbreaking loss to No. 7 Providence College, falling, 2-1, in overtime Friday night.

The Bulldogs (0-1) matched up evenly with last year's NCAA College Cup semifinalists throughout the contest, battling the nationally ranked Friars (1-0) to a scoreless tie through the opening half.

The score stayed deadlocked well into the second frame, until senior Brett Larocque (Ottawa, Ont.) broke through in the 62nd minute, finishing a Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) cross into the bottom left of the net for the 1-0 advantage.

And while the Bulldogs held the one-goal edge late into regulation, the Friars responded with just 90 seconds to play in the frame, as Mac Steeves finished off a Brendan Constantine cross into the six-yard box to knot the score at 1-1.

Steeves's equalizer would send the game into overtime, but just shy of two minutes into the extra frame, PC capitalized on a penalty kick awarded after a foul by senior defender Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) inside the box. Steeves placed the penalty shot left center past Bryant senior goalkeeper Chris Knaub (Yarmouth, Maine) for his second goal of the night, securing the Friars' 2-1 comeback win.

Knaub finished the match with two saves, while junior Curtis Orth (Ancaster, Ont.) tallied a team-high five shots, four of which were on goal.

The Bulldogs look to bounce back in the second game of the season Friday, Sept. 4, when they take on another intrastate opponent in the University of Rhode Island at 7 p.m. in Kingston.