Women's Soccer Ties in CCC Title Game; Falls in Penalty Kick Round

BRISTOL, R.I. – Seeking its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's soccer team battled top-seeded and regionally ranked Roger Williams to a 1-all draw for 110 minutes before falling, 4-1, in the penalty kick round in the title game played at Paolino Field.

The Hawks, who captured their fourth title in the last five seasons, stand at 17-2-4 and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins next weekend. The Leopards, who upset second-seeded Endicott in the quarterfinals and tied third-seeded Eastern Nazarene, 1-1 before advancing on penalty kicks, 5-4, in the semifinals, are 9-8-4 at await word of a possible ECAC Tournament berth on Monday.

Roger Williams nearly grabbed an early lead in the 13th minute, with Haley Carignan (Scarborough, Maine) coming down the right side with a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. She put up a shot but had it bounce off of the crossbar. Jenna Hart (Cheshire, Conn.) followed up with a shot on the loose ball, but sailed it across the net just wide left.

The Hawks kept up the pressure throughout the first half, outshooting the Leopards 8-1. However, the half would remain scoreless.

In the second half, Roger Williams had a few chances to tack on the first score of the game in the opening part of the period including when Carla Salcedo (Mexico City, Mexico) booted a long shot in the 61st minute just sailed over the net, missing by a couple of feet.

Wentworth had its best opportunity to score three minutes later, as freshman Emily Richard (Fremont, N.H.) took the ball on the left side of the net off of a corner kick by sophomore Mary Annon (Concord, N.H.). Richard had the ball past the keeper, but Julie Loewenstein (Malta, N.Y.) got her body in front of the shot and prevent a sure goal.

The Leopards finally managed to break through in the 83rd minute. A foul on the Hawks set up a free kick outside the left side of the box. Sophomore Mary Pastorelli (Whitesboro, N.Y.) served up the free kick to the left side, finding Richard on the corner. Richard blasted a kick into the upper corner to give the Leopards a 1-0 lead.

Wentworth appeared to be headed for the championship, before the Hawks had one final attempt at tying the contest. Darby Rawcliffe (Portland, Maine) took the ball to the right side and put up a shot. Wentworth's Nicole Leahey (Warwick, R.I.) knocked away the attempt, however the rebound came to Kristin Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.). who put in the loose ball to tie the game with 21 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.

In the overtime periods, neither team came through with the golden goal, setting up penalty kicks.

Jessica Valenti (North Reading, Mass.) buried the first shot into the upper right corner, putting RWU up 1-0. Pastorelli stepped up next for Wentworth but had her shot saved on a diving stop by Sydney Martin (Scarborough, Maine). Mariah Kaiser (Portsmouth, R.I.) and junior Valeria Zapata (Pawtucket, R.I.) respectively converted their opportunities for Roger Williams and Wentworth, keeping the Hawk lead at one. Rawcliffe came through with the goal to the upper right corner, while Richard was denied by Martin. With the Hawks up 3-1, Tetreault buried what would be game-winning shot to punch the Hawks' ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Martin had three saves for Roger Williams in the game, while Leahey made six stops. The Hawks had a 26-12 shot advantage for the match.