Rivalry weekend, as Bulldogs play at Brown on Friday and host Friars on Sunday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's soccer team is getting set for a busy weekend in Rhode Island, taking on intrastate rivals Brown in the Capital City on Friday and Providence College at home on Sunday.

Matchup with the Bears

The Bulldogs (0-1) and Bears have squared off four times, with this weekend's hosts holding a 4-0 lead in the series. The last matchup was a 1-0 win in Providence and a game that could have easily went either way. Seniors Chris McCormick (Westfield, Mass.) and Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) got the start along the backline in that contest, as the former attempted a pair of shots. McCormick scored the lone Bryant goal and his first career score in the season opener on a free kick from just outside the box against New Hampshire on August 26.

The Bears will kick off their season on Friday with a plethora of returning talent from last season's squad which finished 10-5-2 and 4-1-2 in the Ivy League. Five All-Ivy League honorees remain a part of this year's bunch, including First Team selection and Co-Rookie of the Year, Jack Hagstrom. The sophomore led the Bears with 11 points on five goals and an assist in 2015.

Sophomore Matthew Chow finished third on the team with seven points on three goals and a helper on his way to being named Second Team All-Ivy League. Will Cross returns for his fifth year following a seven-point campaign on two goals and three assists. Junior Quinn English returns to the midfield after a four-point season, appearing in all 17 games and senior captain Nate Pomeroy tallied five points last year.  

The defense finished third in the conference with a 0.90 goals-against average, as Hagstrom helped lead the backline. Junior defender Louis Zingas made 14 starts in the 17 games he played in, tallying one assist. The Bears also return all three of their keepers from a season ago. Junior Joey Cipicchio made a pair of starts and totaled eight saves with one goal allowed. Sophomore Teo Norhagen made five starts, allowing just two goals and turning away 16 shots with a 4-1-0 record. Senior Erik Hanson led the group with 10 starts, as he allowed 13 goals and made 38 saves on his way to 5-4-1 mark in net.

Matchup with the Friars

The Bulldogs and Friars (0-2) have met three times over the years, as two of the three encounters have been one-goal outcomes decided in overtime. In last year's matchup with the then No.7 Friars, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 edge midway through the second half and held the lead until nearly the final whistle. Junior Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) set up Brett Larocque ('15) in the middle of the field just outside the box for a one-time shot that found the back of the net.

With under two minutes to play, now-senior forward Mac Steeves knotting things up at 1-1, and the 6-4 striker converted a penalty kick less than two minutes into the overtime period to give his team the win. Senior Curtis Orth (Ancaster, Ont.) ripped off four shots in that game, with three being on target.

The Friars have been battle tested over the first two games of the season, suffering a pair of 2-1 defeats, first to Rhode Island and then to No. 2 Clemson on the road. Providence finished 2015 8-7-3 and 4-4-1 in the BIG EAST, earning a trip to semifinals of the conference tournament. Steeves, the Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year selection and unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST choice, leads this year's squad once again, despite not scoring in either of the first two games.

Senior Julian Gressel, who finished second on the team with 21 points last year, paces PC with four points on the young season and the only two goals. Gressel and senior mid Dominik Machado were both named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

The Friars returned several contributing sophomores, including Brendan Constantine, Klisman Sousa and Tiago Mendonca, all of whom were named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2015. Not named to that team was Alex Vigliotti, despite leading all PC rookies with seven points.

Junior Ben Seguljic is back between the pipes with 10 saves on the year and four goals against. He also has one of the Friars five points, being an assist coming in the Clemson game to make him one of four Division I goalies with a helper this year.

Friday's match against the Bears kicks off at 7:00 p.m. and the action can be seen on IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com or followed along via livestats on BrownBears.com.

Sunday's contest with the Friars can be watched live on NECFrontRow.com starting at 3:00 p.m. and livestats can be found on BryantBulldogs.com.