The Providence College men’s lacrosse team is set to face Brown University on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island. The match will begin at noon and will be streamed on Friars Live, with links to the broadcast and live statistics available on Friars.com through the men’s lacrosse schedule.
This upcoming game marks the 31st meeting between Providence and Brown. Historically, Brown leads the series with 27 wins to Providence’s three. The Bears are one of Providence’s most frequent opponents, trailing only Holy Cross and Siena in total games played. The Friars last defeated Brown in 2024 with a 12-11 overtime win at home.
In their most recent matchup during the 2025 season, Brown edged out Providence 7-6. Parker Kennedy contributed one goal and one assist for the Friars, while Jay Wilkerson added a goal.
Providence comes into this contest after defeating Bryant 16-11 on Feb. 6 in its first Ocean State Cup game of the season. A win against Brown would allow Providence to claim the Ocean State Cup trophy for only the third time in program history; previous wins came in 2018 and 2020.
Richie Joseph and Matt Lazzaro have been recognized on the NEILA 2026 Preseason Watch List, with Joseph named among returning players and Lazzaro among incoming players.
The Friars suffered their first loss of the season to No. 12 Harvard, falling 10-4 on Feb. 14 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their current record stands at two wins and one loss.
Senior attacker Richie Joseph enters Saturday’s game just three goals away from reaching 100 career goals—a milestone achieved by only six other players in program history. Joseph currently ranks seventh all-time for career goals at Providence and seventeenth in overall scoring with a total of 130 points (97 goals, 33 assists).
Through three games this season, Providence ranks third among BIG EAST schools in scoring offense with an average of nearly twelve goals per game. Rhett Chambers leads the team with seventeen points (nine goals, eight assists) and ranks second in the conference for points per game.
Matt Lazzaro is second on the team with eleven points (eight goals), while Richie Joseph follows closely behind with eight points (seven goals). Sam Brazell and Jay Wilkerson have each scored four goals so far this season.
Sophomore goaltender Cam Sterritt has started all three games this year, making forty saves for a .563 save percentage and averaging over thirteen saves per game—second-best in the BIG EAST.
Face-off duties have been split between Chris Esposito (.579 win percentage) and Jack Cooper (.500), both contributing ground balls as well.
Defensively, Dean Metzger, Ian Olenik, and Cam Mesh have anchored play for Providence. Olenik leads both his team and conference in caused turnovers per game (2.67) and also tops his squad in ground balls.
Several Friars received BIG EAST Weekly Honors on Feb. 9: Rhett Chambers was named Offensive Player of the Week; Ian Olenik earned Specialist of the Week; Cam Sterritt was featured on the Honor Roll following victories over Holy Cross (15-10) and Bryant (16-11).
Rhett Chambers also received national recognition as USA Lacrosse Player of the Week by USA Lacrosse Magazine after posting nine points against Bryant—a career high—and was voted Inside Lacrosse AXIA Time Player of the Week by fans.
In their home opener versus Bryant, Chambers led offensively while Olenik recorded personal bests defensively; Sterritt made sixteen saves for a .593 save percentage.
Against Holy Cross earlier this season, Chambers had six points while Lazzaro set new career highs for points (five) and assists (two). Wilkerson added four goals as Sterritt made his collegiate debut with ten saves.
Richie Joseph and Rhett Chambers were both named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team for 2026; Joseph also earned Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors—the second consecutive year a Friar has done so since Ryan Bell’s selection last year.
Providence finished last season with a record of seven wins and eight losses overall—including a winning mark at home—and qualified for its third straight BIG EAST Tournament under Head Coach Bobby Benson. Notably, they secured their first-ever victory over Denver during that campaign.
Bobby Benson is now entering his fourth year as head coach after previously serving as offensive coordinator at Maryland during its national championship run in 2022. Associate Head Coach Casey Brodersen joined from Bryant ahead of last season; assistant coaches Carroll Kennedy (from Maryland/Limestone University) joined in 2023 and Shawn Ewert arrived from Florida Southern prior to this season.
Three top-five point scorers return from last year: senior Richie Joseph (second in goals/assists), junior Rhett Chambers (career highs across categories), and sophomore Jay Wilkerson (fifth-leading scorer as a freshman). Senior defenders Dean Metzger—who started every game last year—and Ian Olenik return to anchor defense alongside several newcomers including twelve freshmen recruits from across North America plus three transfers: Chris Esposito (Stony Brook), Matt Lazzaro (Penn State), Cam Mesh (SUNY Brockport).
Providence was projected to finish fifth out of six teams according to this year’s BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll; Georgetown was favored to win the league title again.
Brown opened its own season with a victory over Fairfield—who were receiving votes nationally—by a score of ten to eight after generating thirty-eight shots offensively. The Bears bring back leading scorer Marcus Wertheim along with Ben Scandone from last year’s squad that finished winless within Ivy League play but currently receive votes themselves in national polls. Senior defender Charlie Cave returns after earning preseason All-America honorable mentions; junior goalie Connor Foley made fourteen saves during Brown’s opening win this year.
Looking ahead, Providence will next host Fairfield on Saturday, Feb. 28 at noon; that contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
