Providence Upsets Siena, 9-7, in 2007 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Semifinal
MAAC Sports
Emmitsburg, Md. ? Fourth-seed Providence College upset top-seeded Siena College with a 9-7 win in the first semifinal game of the 2007 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship at the Waldron Family Stadium on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University.
The Saints got on the board first as Matt Donovan netted an unassisted shot just over four minutes into the first quarter. Donovan added another goal exactly one minute later to give the Green and Gold a 2-0 lead. The Friars then got their offensive start at the 7:58 mark as Bobby Labadini netted a shot up the middle to make it a one-goal game.
In the second quarter, Providence tied it up at 2-2 as Bennett Murphy found the back of the net with the help of Devon McBride just nine seconds into the stanza. Siena would not keep it tied for long, however, as Matt Leithead scored his first goal of the day with 13:19 remaining to put the Saints up, 3-2. But the Friars tied it again (3-3) at the 12:18 mark as Murphy netted his second goal of the contest to even out the playing field. Siena would regain the lead again less than a minute later as James Mikel registered his first goal of the day after a pass from Chris Viviano. Providence’s McBride tied it once more at 4-4, assisted by Robert Lamontagne, with just nine minutes remaining in the half. The Saints pulled ahead (5-4) as Donovan scored his third goal of the day off a pass from Neil Mayerhoffer with 6:12 remaining. Siena then took a two-goal lead as Chris Zarins scored off a pass from Mayerhoffer with less than four minutes left in the quarter. Labadini scored his second goal of the day, aided by Brendan Ryan, with 1:21 left on the clock to bring the Friars back within one (6-5) going into halftime.
Providence would tie it at 6-6 at the 7:55 mark in the third quarter as McBride netted a shot from Murphy. Siena regained the lead (7-6) as Shaun Dunn netted an unassisted goal with less than five minutes remaining in the stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Providence would tie it up again as Jackson Fallon netted his first goal of the day, assisted by Ryan, at the 13:45 mark. The Friars would take their first lead of the game as Ryan scored his first goal of the contest, aided by McBride, with just less than 13 minutes remaining in the game to put his squad up, 8-7. Providence took a two-goal lead (9-7) as Fallon reached the back of the net, aided by Ryan, at the 6:06 mark for the eventual final score of the contest.
Peter Littell made 10 saves for Providence, while Brent Herbst registered four stops for Siena.
Providence will play the winner of today’s second semifinal game between #2 Canisius College and #3 Saint Joseph’s University in the championship game on Sunday, May 6, at 1:00 p.m.
Recap:
Providence (6-9, 5-3 MAAC) 1 4 1 3 -- 9
Siena (10-6, 7-1 MAAC) 2 4 1 0 -- 7
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Providence ? Devin McBride (2-2), Bennett Murphy (2-1), Bobby Labadini (2-0), Jackson Fallon (2-0), Brendan Ryan (1-3), Robert Lamontagne (0-1)
Siena ? Matt Donovan (3-0), Matt Leithead (1-0), James Mikel (1-0), Chris Zarins (1-0), Shaun Dunn (1-0), Neil Mayerhoffer (0-2), Chris Viviano (0-1)
Saves: Providence ? Peter Littell 10; Siena ? Brent Herbst 4
Shots: Siena 27, Providence 26
Groundballs: Siena 31, Providence 20
Turnovers: Providence 24, Siena 21