Providence College came into the men's lacrosse game against Brown with no wins on the season. PC had nothing to lose. The Bears, (5-5, 2-2 Ivy) were looking to gain momentum going into key Ivy League contests. In a game that included a broken stick, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a number of shots off the crossbar, Bruno prevailed with a 14-7 win to claim the first-ever Ocean State Cup.
With the Bears coming off a hard loss to Ivy foe Yale, it was important that they come out ready to play, said midfielder David Hawley '11.
"We did a really good job coming out early and playing strong from the start," Hawley said. "We kind of got punched in the mouth by Yale, but we scored first this game and played well early."
The Friars, in their first year in the Big East conference, started with strong defense, holding Brown to just two goals in the first and earning one goal of their own.
The defense started strong for both teams, as attackman Rob Schlesinger '12 landed a hard shot on a PC player in the first quarter — before his stick snapped in the second quarter.
"I really appreciate, as a coach, how we came out and played," said Head Coach Lars Tiffany '90. "We saw another opportunity to prove ourselves as men and as a team. You could see me on the sidelines. I was an angry coach even in the second half. I didn't want us to lull."
And lull they would not. Bruno found the goal 14 times during the game behind game leading scorer Andrew Feinberg '11, who found the back of the net five times and scored his 94th career goal.
One area that Brown lagged in was faceoffs. Bruno only captured 8 of 24 against a Friar team that averages 41 percent on the season. The Friars capitalized on the extra possessions. It was only the third time this season that PC scored more than five goals in a game.
"Moving early and not winning the ball, that was frustrating to me." Tiffany said. "Seth Ratner ('11) stepped up in the second half, though. There was a silver lining. I challenged Seth, and the next time he went in, he got three of four faceoffs."
With time running out in the game, frustrated PC Head Coach Chris Burdick was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, adding to what would become 5:30 worth of penalties for the Friars.
Brown will be on the road Saturday at 1 p.m. against a tough Cornell team in a game that will help decide if Brown makes the postseason Ivy Tournament.
"Cornell is a huge game and the Ivy tournament is really our ticket to the NCAAs," Hawley said. The team "beat them last year, so hopefully we can come out like we did today, get an early lead and finish it."
