BRISTOL, R.I.- The Endicott women's soccer team, the No. 4 seed in this year's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament, fell on the road to No. 1 seed Roger Williams 2-1 in overtime. Endicott CCC title chase comes to an end as the Gulls fall to 9-8-2 while Roger Williams (RWU) advances to the CCC Final with a 17-0-3 record.
Roger Williams got on the board quickly, scoring in the third minute as Mariah Kaiser (Portsmouth, R.I.) notched her 15th of the season off assists from Jodie Lavigne (Coventry, R.I.) and Jessica Valenti (North Reading, Mass.).
The two teams would play a relatively balanced first half the rest of the way with RWU holding a slight 5-3 edge in shots in the half. Endicott keeper Caroline Armbruster (Stowe, Vt.) made two saves in the frame while Sydney Martin (Scarborough, Maine) wasn't required to make any in the opening 45.
Endicott would seize control of the second half quickly as Sharlotte Pernice (West Springfield, Mass.) blasted a shot into the upper left corner to tie the match at 1-1 in the 55th minute. Pernice's chance came off an Ashley Mueskes (Georgetown, Mass.) to give the senior midfielder her fourth assist and team-best 18th point of the season. The Gulls would out-shoot the Hawks 11-2 in the half as Martin recorded three saves while Armbruster wasn't required to make any in the half.
As the last four contests before this evening's match-up, the contest would require overtime to decide the outcome as Kaiser would again come up huge for the Hawks. The senior would take a shot from the right hand side of the box that would cross just over the reach of Armbruster to give the undefeated Hawks the victory and send them on to the CCC Finals.
BEYOND THE BOX
- While this match needed overtime, it broke up a string of four consecutive matches that had required double-overtime or more between the two squads.
- Four Gulls recorded two shots or more as Pernice tied with Paige Marinelli (Burlington, Conn.) for the team lead with three.
- Endicott held a 14-10 advantage overall in the match.
FOR THE FOES
- With her two goals, Kaiser is now tied for 46th nationally in NCAA Division III women's soccer. Her five shots made her the only player to register more than one.
- The win was the first for the Hawks over the Gulls since September 15, 2012 as the two programs has tied three of the last four meetings with Endicott winning the fourth.
WHAT'S NEXT
With their CCC title run coming to an end, Endicott now awaits any possible post season berths. With the win, Roger Williams advances to the CCC final against the winner of No. 6 Gordon at No. 2 Wentworth.
