Roger Williams' Last Minute Goal Closes Out WNE's Season

Bristol, R.I (November 2, 2022) - After an exciting quarterfinal win at home versus Nichols College, the WNE Golden Bears traveled out to Bristol, Rhode Island, for a matchup with the number two-seeded Roger Williams University Hawks. The two sides had met once in the regular season at Springfield. Unfortunately, the Hawks got the best of the Golden Bears during that one by a score of 1-0. The Golden Bears hope to flip the script in this CCC tournament semifinal match.

Records:

• Western New England: 10-7-3 (6-3-0 CCC)
• Roger Williams University: 13-3-4 (6-2-1 CCC)

How it Happened:

The first half started with a kick-off from WNE. It did not take long for the Golden Bears to show off their attack as a WNE counter-attack in the 1st minute of play led to Mike Milazzo sending a shot wide of the net. In the 4th minute, John McCarthy got a shot off for the Hawks, but it sailed high of the net and did not cause any trouble for WNE GK Roger Leland. The 6th minute saw the first shot on goal for the game. Ian Alves put a shot toward the center of the net. RWU GK Jack Avellar made a clean save on it. The ball then traveled from team to team for a while. Neither team was able to crack through the opposing defense for a shot. The 17th minute saw Mike Riley get a shot off, but it went wide right of the net. John Fogarty got a shot on Leland in the 21st minute.

The ball was sent toward the top of the net, and Leland picked it out of the air. Again, the ball went from team to team, with neither team getting a shot off until the 33rd minute. Javi Beltran got a shot off, but it missed wide right of the net and did not worry Leland much. Roger Williams was gaining momentum and would continue to pressure WNE for the remainder of the half. First, a shot from Spencer Rushnak was sent wide of the net. Then, a shot by Jimmy Keane was sent high of the net and out of the reach of Leland in the 42nd minute. There were no more shots taken before the end of the half, and going into halftime, the Golden Bears were tied with the Hawks 0-0.

The first-half stat line showed a pretty even game. Roger Williams led on shots with five taken in the first half compared to WNE's three. Both teams only got one shot on net, and each shot was saved. Both teams were awarded two corner kicks in the half, and WNE was called for four fouls compared to the two called on Roger Williams. It was a tight first half with great defense being played. The Golden Bears hoped for more opportunities in the second half, though.

Roger Williams started the second half with the ball. It did not take long for WNE to put pressure on the Hawks. In the 46th minute, Avellar was tested by Mike Riley. Riley put the ball into the bottom center of the net, and Avellar made the save. Lanzillo also had an opportunity on goal in the 53rd minute. Avellar saved a shot toward the bottom right of the goal. Jonny Clough went for goal in the 57th minute, but the shot was sent wide of the net. The Golden Bears had the first three shots of the second half and were applying good pressure. It was turned around in the 59th minute when CJ Sousa got a shot off, but it did not worry Leland as it went wide of the net. After that, the two teams would return to fighting for possession and getting few major opportunities on net. That was until the 73rd minute when Chris Allen shot at the bottom right side of the goal.

Avellar made the save, though, and kept the game scoreless. After that, Roger Williams started to take control of the game. Three shots were sent at Leland in three minutes, with the crowd urging them on. Leland made a save in the 76th, 77th, and 78th minutes to keep WNE tied with Roger Williams. Liam Blaisdell then sent a shot at Leland in the 82nd minute of play. Leland made the save in the bottom right corner of the net. The score was still tied. However, Roger Williams kept the pressure on WNE, and they struck with just over three minutes to play. Niall Shea got control of the ball on Roger Williams' side of the pitch. Shea then booted the ball down to CJ Sousa, who let the ball bounce off his chest to the ground, and with Leland charging the ball, Sousa sent a right-footed rocket into the bottom right side of the back of the net. Roger Williams now led 1-0. Unfortunately, even with constant pressure, WNE could not get a shot onto net in the final three minutes, and the Hawks downed the Golden Bears by a score of 1-0.

The final stat line told a similar story to how close the game was until the end. Roger Williams got 11 shots off in total, with six of them being on net and five of those shots being saved. WNE had seven shot attempts, with four on net and all four being saved. Both teams were awarded three corner kicks during the game, and WNE was called for seven fouls to Roger Williams' five fouls. Again, the final score was Roger Williams, one, and WNE, zero.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE and Roger Williams faced off in the CCC semifinals after meeting almost two weeks prior, with the Hawks winning 1-0.
• The only goal of the game came in the 87th minute. Nial Shea sent a long, arching ball toward the WNE penalty box. CJ Sousa played the ball off his chest and ground and sent a shot into the back of the net.
• Roger Leland made five saves on six attempts.
• Jack Avellar made four saves on four attempts.
• Roger Williams took down WNE by a score of 1-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears' season ends at Roger Williams after losing 1-0. They finished the year with a 10-7-3 overall record and a CCC record of 6-3-0.
• Roger Williams heads to the CCC championship game on Saturday, where they will meet the winner of Suffolk University and Endicott College. That game time is to be announced.