BRISTOL, R.I.  – The Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team captured the TCCC (The Commonwealth Coast Conference) Championship in thrilling fashion with a 4-2 win on penalty kicks over Endicott College on Saturday after a 2-2 tie in the end of double overtime.

In front of a large, vociferous crowd made up of both RWU and Endicott students, the Hawks took the lead, conceded two goals, rallied back to tie the game, and almost won it in overtime before finally prevailing on penalty kicks to culminate their perfect conference season with a record of 13-0-0.

Though top-ranked Roger Williams beat Endicott earlier this season on the road 2-1, they knew that the #2 seeded Gulls would give them everything they could handle. Earlier in the tournament, Endicott had earlier dispatched #7 Curry College and #3 Western New England College at home, outscoring their opponents 5-1 and 4-1, respectively, while RWU had beaten #8 Gordon College 2-0 and the #4 University of New England 2-1 in overtime. The foundations for an exciting contest were in place.

The game started at a fiery tempo, as both teams attempted to grab a foothold on the game. Though both sides had early chances, it was Roger Williams who came closest to grabbing the lead. Midway through the first half, Devon Leighton (Scarborough, Maine) launched an effort from 12 yards which clattered against the right post.  The ball fell to Noelle Marston (Kingston, Mass.), who sent the rebound on net from close range. Unfortunately for Marston, Gulls 'keeper Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.) made a sensational save to keep the game scoreless.

However, RWU would snatch the lead with exactly three minutes left in the first half. Junior Laurin Pendleton (Southwick, Mass.) found freshman Hannah Noel (Adams, Mass.) in the box. Noel cut away from her defender and released a shot with the outside of her right foot. Though the ball clattered against the same post which had earlier denied Leighton, this time it deflected into the net past a hapless Wyrsch to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage at the break.

The second half started and the balance of play remained even despite RWU's advantage in the scoreline. With 35 minutes left in regulation, Endicott's Colleen Pepin (Fairhaven, Mass.), sent a cross towards Sarah Johnson (Harrisville, R.I.). However, the cross went just over the head of Johnson, and the chance went begging.

Though RWU began to create more chances, the Gulls equalized with 19:55 remaining in regulation. Pepin bore down on goal with only RWU goalkeeper Kelsey McGee (Kings Park, N.Y.) to beat. Although McGee made the save off of Pepin's effort, the ball fell kindly for Kayla Corbett (Danvers, Mass.), who made no mistake in burying the rebound from six yards to level things up.

Endicott then turned the game on its head by taking the lead. Pepin, after gaining possession at the top of the Roger Williams box, launched a left-footed curler that went over McGee's head and into the net with 14:27 left. In just over five minutes, the Hawks went from being up 1-0 to down 2-1.

However, RWU managed to equalize with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Alexa Maher (Hopewell, N.J.) got the ball 18 yards out. She took two steps before firing a left-footed rocket into the top left-hand corner of the net to deadlock the contest at two goals apiece.

While both teams had chances to win it in the first of two sudden-death overtimes, the majority of the action didn't occur until the final minute of the second extra period. With 33 seconds left, Pepin broke in on McGee and released a low shot that the RWU keeper did well to save. Then, with less than 10 ticks remaining, Katie Fusaro (Hopkinton, Mass.) raced down the other end of the pitch and fired an angled drive with the chance of winning the contest for the Hawks. However, the potential storybook ending was not to be, as the shot clattered against the crossbar as the final horn sounded, necessitating penalty kicks to decide the fate of the TCCC trophy.

After a short break, each team picked five players to take the penalties. Endicott's Caitlin Peters (Salem, N.H.) stepped up to take the first kick, which McGee saved. Leighton, the first RWU penalty taker, gave the Hawks the 1-0 advantage, sending a shot to the left of Wyrsch. Victoria Hunt (Cumberland, R.I.) then scored for Endicott before Maddy Howard (Medfield, Mass.) placed her kick into the side-netting to give the Hawks a 2-1 advantage. Chelsea Garlock (Meriden, Conn.) took the third kick and had her bid saved by McGee, while Maher scored, and it was 3-1 RWU. Taylor Ocko (Danvers, Mass.) placed her kick past McGee, leaving Pendleton with the potentially game-winning kick. Pendleton stepped up and made no mistake, hammering her effort past the diving Wyrsch and into the bottom-left corner to punch the Hawks' ticket to the NCAA Tournament via the automatic bid.

McGee made ten saves in earning the win, while Wyrsch stopped eight shots in the loss.

Roger Williams (16-4-1) will find out its NCAA Tournament First Round opponent on Monday, November 8 during the NCAA Selection Show. Endicott wraps up its regular season with a record of 15-5-2.