SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Holy Cross men's lacrosse team came up short against Providence College, falling 16-9 on Saturday, Feb. 5.

Junior attack Jayce Lambert had three goals and an assist to lead Holy Cross (0-1), while junior attack Dean DiNanno and junior midfielder Connor Boyle had two goals apiece. Sophomore midfielder Connor DePiero picked up six ground balls while also winning 20 of 28 faceoffs. Senior defender Chris Conlin caused two turnovers.

Evan McGreen paced Providence (1-0) with seven goals and an assist, while Ryan Bell had two goals and five assists on the evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After the Friars took an early 2-0 lead, Lambert scored with 11:13 left in the first.
• The Crusaders and Friars traded goals, with DiNanno and sophomore attack Cole Kratovil getting on the board to keep Holy Cross within 4-3 with 3:58 left in the opening frame.
• From there, Providence rattled off five unanswered goals to take a 9-3 lead with 6:18 to go in the second.
• Boyle scored with 5:23 left in the first half to end the Providence run, but the Friars added one more before the half to take a 10-4 lead.
• Providence led 12-5 with 4:04 remaining in the third before the Crusaders had three unanswered goals from sophomore attack Matt Major, Lambert and Boyle to cut within four goals with 10:12 left in the fourth.
• After two more Friar goals, Lambert scored with 6:03 left, but Providence rounded out the scoring with a pair of goals to secure the 16-9 win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The game was played as a neutral-site contest at the Conaty Indoor Athletic Center on the campus of Bryant University.
• Lambert's three goals matched his career best for a single game.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders head to Syracuse for a nonconference contest against the Orange on Feb. 12.
• The game is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.