McLaughlin Makes Two Massive Penalty Kick Saves, Golden Bears March into CCC Championship Game

Springfield, Mass. (November 1, 2022) - The Golden Bears played host to the Roger Williams University Hawks in the CCC semifinals. After defeating Wentworth 3-0, WNE looked to keep rolling in the CCC playoffs. The Hawks got to the semifinals after defeating Gordon College at home 2-0. This game would be the second matchup between the Hawks and Golden Bears this year, with the first matchup seeing the Hawks take the win 1-0. The Golden Bears were hungry for redemption. 

Records:

• Western New England: 12-5-2 (6-2-1)
• Roger Williams University: 9-9-4 (4-3-2)

How it Happened:

The game started with Roger Williams passing the ball back and then sending a booming kick into WNE's half of the pitch. The Hawks wasted no time getting a shot off as 2021 Co-CCC Offensive Player of the Year, Bianca Robbins, sent a shot that WNE GK Molly McLaughlin saved. WNE would answer with two shots of their own. Isabella Montalvo and Summer Hathaway missed high and wide left, respectively. The 11th minute saw RWU's Sofie Morris send a shot wide of the net. Then, Allison Bruehwiler sent a shot wide left in the 12th minute. The 14th minute saw WNE ramp up the pressure, with both Hathaway and Bruehwiler sending shots at net. RWU GK, Coco Marrelli was able to make both saves. Roger Williams had two shots in the 19th minute, but neither got to McLaughlin. In the 28th minute, Roger Williams had a prime opportunity when McLaughlin slipped inside the penalty box. Robbins stared at a wide-open net, and as Robbins sent a ball humming toward the net, Allison VanVolkenburg appeared out of nowhere to make a save with her body in front of the goal. The score stayed tied at zero a piece. The 31st and 32nd minutes saw shots from WNE sail outside the goal. In the 33rd minute, freshman Gabby Sansone got the ball and went to work. Sansone made many moves on the left side of the pitch. Sansone then moved the ball to the right foot and, from outside the penalty box, sent a rocket toward Marrelli. Marrelli got a hand on it, but the force of the shot was too much, and it got over Marrelli and into the back of the net. WNE now led 1-0 with just over ten minutes left to play in the first half. 

WNE kept the pressure on after the goal, leading to a Julia Frappier shot at the top right of the goal. Marrelli stayed poised and controlled and made the save to keep the Golden Bears at one goal. The 40th minute was a big one for the Hawks. The ball was dribbled down the right side of the field. A cross was sent in, and McLaughlin got a hand on the ball but fell to the ground. The ball bounced around and fell to Sofie Morris, who slotted it home into the back of the net. The Hawks tied the game at one goal a side. WNE did not shy away after the goal. The pressure continued. Frappier sent a shot at Marelli that Marelli had to save. Then, Brynn Murphy put a shot at Marrelli that was handled. In the 45th minute, Jen Donohue had a shot at net for the Hawks, but it jumped high of the net. That is how the first half would end. The score was 1-1. 

The first-half stat line showed WNE taking 12 shots to the Hawks' seven. WNE got six shots on goal, with five of them being saved. Roger Williams had three shots on net, with two being saved. WNE was awarded four corner kicks, and Roger Williams only had one. Both teams were called for three fouls. The first half was a close battle, with more to come in the second.

The second half started with Bruehwiler putting a shot on Marrelli, which Marrelli was able to make a save. Then, a Leah Yucius shot went left of the goal. In the 49th minute, WNE took the lead. Danielle McCarthy played a ball to Samantha Vitka on the left edge of the penalty box. Vitka took a touch and sent a left-footed stinger at Marrelli. The ball glanced off Marrelli's hand and found the back of the net. WNE had the lead 2-1 not even five minutes into the second half. Like with the first goal, WNE did not back down after the goal and played defense. They kept attacking. McCarthy went for a goal and missed just high. Hathaway shot at goal in the 53rd minute, but it went wide of the net. After that, Roger Williams started making their moves toward goal. Raffaella Brunetti and Sofie Morris sent shots, but neither tested McLaughlin. The 62nd minute saw an Abby Free shot go wide left of the net. In the 68th minute, Isabella Montalvo was saved by Marrelli on the right side of the net. In the 71st minute, Bianca Robbins was pulled down inside the penalty box, and a penalty kick was awarded. Robbins stepped up to take the kick and put a hard shot on the right side of the net. McLaughlin had timed it perfectly, stretched out for the save, and parried the ball away from the net. The score was still 2-1.

However, the score would only stay that way for a little while longer. In the 72nd minute, the ball was played toward the WNE penalty box. As McLaughlin went for the ball, it bounced off one of the heads in front of her and over everyone into the back of the net. The goal made the score 2-2 with around 17 minutes left to play. Bruehwiler went for goal in the 73rd minute, but it went high of the net. Bruehwiler went at goal again in the 77th minute and made Marrelli have to make a save. McCarthy followed with a shot that went high of net. The 84th minute saw Robbins slice around the WNE defense and put a shot on net, but McLaughlin made the falling save. The final shot of regulation came from Malina LaCapra, who sent it at the bottom left of the net, but Marrelli made the much-needed save to send the game to overtime.

The second-half stats showed that WNE took double the number of shots Roger Williams took (10-5). Five shots from WNE were on net, with four saves being made. Three shots were on target for Roger Williams. WNE made two saves. WNE took all four corner kicks awarded in the second half, and both teams were called for five fouls. It was time for overtime.

The first half of overtime saw WNE kick-off. Gabby Sansone had a shot go wide left of the goal in the 93rd minute. Robbins had a shot go wide right of the net in the 95th minute. The 99th minute saw Abby Free send a shot at Marrelli, but Marrelli handled the shot to keep the score even at 2-2. 

The second half of overtime saw Roger Williams kick off and send the ball into WNE's territory. The only shot on goal came from Bruehwiler in the 106th minute of play. Marrelli was able to make the save and keep the game tied. Vitka and Robbins each got shots off, but neither worried the opposing goalkeeper. After a scoreless overtime, it went to penalty kicks.

To start penalty kicks, WNE would go first, and Roger Williams would go second. Allison VanVolkenburg made the first shot. Grace Kelly answered with a goal. Bruehwiler scored on WNE's second kick. Sami Brody answered again for the Hawks. Maria Burtimas sent a shot past Marrelli for a goal. Cassidy Collins then scored to make it 3-3 on penalty kicks. Isabella Montalvo had a shot saved. Sofie Morris then scored to put Roger Williams up 4-3. Abby Free scored to send a shot to Roger Williams with a chance for the win. McLaughlin blocked Mollie Feldman to keep the game going. Summer Hathaway scored for WNE, and so did Bianca Robbins for the Hawks. Samantha Vitka kept the Golden Bears alive with a goal, and so did RaffaellaBrunetti for the Hawks. Emily Chojnicki made her shot for WNE, but Leah Yucius missed for the Hawks. The Golden Bears won and move on to the CCC championship game by a score of 2-2, 7-6 in penalty kicks.

Inside the Lines:

• The CCC semifinal between the Golden Bears of WNE and the Hawks of Roger Williams was the second meeting of the year for the team. 
• WNE struck first with a Gabby Sansone rocket in the 33rd minute.
• Roger Williams answered in the 40th minute when Sofie Morris put a deflected ball into the back of the net.
• Samantha Vitka scored in the 49th minute off a pass from Danielle McCarthy. The score was 2-1.
• Roger Williams got a goal in the 72nd minute.
• The game was tied at 2-2 in regulation and went to overtime.
• The game was still tied after two overtime halves and went to penalty kicks.
• WNE won in penalty kicks by a score of 7-6.
• McLaughlin had three saves during regulation and overtime. Marrelli had 11.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• With this win, WNE advances to the CCC championship game where they will host the winner of Curry College and the University of New England. That game will be held on Saturday, November 5, at a time still to be determined.
• Roger Williams' season ends here. They finished the season with a record of 9-9-4 and a CCC record of 4-3-2.