The men's lacrosse team traveled across town to defeat Providence College 7-3 on Saturday. The win moves the No. 18 Bears to 2-1 on the season.
Brown took control of the game early, pressuring PC at every turn. Senior co-captain and attackman David Madeira '07 put the Bears on the board first with a goal just over five minutes into the game. Madeira missed Brown's first two games due to injury, but he didn't miss a beat in his debut.
Despite the quick start, the Bears were unable to extend their 1-0 lead in the first quarter due to the staunch Friar defense. Head Coach Lars Tiffany '90 was impressed with Providence's defensive effort at the outset.
"The PC coaching staff had a good strategy and good personnel," he said. "They had an outstanding goalie that made some big saves when we broke the defense down."
Brown's coaching staff matched wits with PC and made some adjustments as the game progressed into the second quarter. Tiffany credited Assistant Coach Jon Thompson with "(making) some counters and adjustments in the middle of the game that the men really responded to."
With the new strategy in place, the Bears took a 3-0 lead in the middle of the second quarter and went into halftime leading 3-1. They extended the lead to 5-1 midway through the third quarter on a goal by midfielder Will Davis '07. Davis is the only Bear to score in all three games so far this season.
The game ended without much drama. Brown got a goal from midfielder Mike Bernard '07 and two more scores from Thomas Muldoon '10 to cap the 7-3 victory. Last week Muldoon received Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for his hat trickj, including the game-winner, against Hofstra University. The freshman added to his highlight reel this weekend when his second goal came from a near-impossible position on his back.
"Muldoon dodged hard, was hit and fell on his back, where he shot it and somehow found the net," Tiffany said. Muldoon leads a strong group of 10 freshmen, all of whom saw playing time Saturday. Each newcomer has embraced his role on the team.
"The coaching staff is fortunate with this group," Tiffany said. "They are excited to do whatever they can." He also pointed to the fact that, as a spring sport, the coaches were able to spend four or five months with the freshmen before the season commenced, whereas many fall sports are forced to throw their freshmen right into their seasons.
Attackman Kyle Hollingsworth '09 had the most statistically impressive performance of the day, tallying two goals and an assist.
But it was the defense that carried the day. Co-captain Bobby Shields '07 led a strong defensive effort that allowed only a paltry three goals. Brown has only allowed 21 goals through three games. The suffocating defense was highlighted by another strong game from goalie Jordan Burke '09, who made seven saves on 10 shots. The Bears also received impressive defensive play from classmates Reed Deluca '08 and Brian Sharnick '08. Deluca and Sharnick each caused multiple turnovers and controlled the field.
"They directed the defense and did well individually against Providence's top attack," Shields said. He added that the offense and midfield aided the defense by putting a lot of pressure on PC.
"The offense did a great job riding after possessions. (Providence) couldn't get the ball out, and we got a lot of extra possessions," Shields said.
In the fourth quarter, the defensive man-down unit came up big. Following Hollingsworth's second goal, which put Brown up 7-2, Brown had a string of six straight penalties. Tiffany could not fault the team's aggression because he felt physical play was a key for his team, but at one point he did have to tell them reluctantly to "bring it down a little." Fortunately the man-down unit played well, allowing only one Friar goal in the extended penalty time.
The tough all-around team defense is a testament to Brown's cohesion.
"The systems and scheme are really coming together," Shields said.
The Bears will look to maintain their momentum in their next test on Tuesday, when they play host to Bellarmine University at 4 p.m.
