SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Katie Fusaro (Hopkinton, Mass.) notched the game's only goal to lead Roger Williams to a 1-0 victory over Western New England in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match on Tuesday (Oct. 11) afternoon at Suprenant Field.

Fusaro scored the winning goal in the 66th minute as she finished off a chance that was set up by a through ball from senior forward Noelle Marston (Kingston, Mass.).

Both sides had earlier chances to break the scoreless deadlock; in the 40th minute RWU junior midfielder Maddy Howard (Medfield, Mass.) blasted a ball from outside the box that hit the middle of the crossbar.

The Golden Bears nearly grabbed the lead in the 49th minute as senior defender Samantha Lewis (Mystic, Conn.) headed a corner kick from senior forward Sara McMurray (Enfield, Conn.) that glanced off the bottom of the bar.

The Hawks held a 15-10 edge in shots with a 5-3 advantage in shots on target. The Golden Bears had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

RWU sophomore goalkeeper Stephanie Jaques (Burlington, Vt.) made three saves to record the shutout victory in net.

WNE sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Trezise (Islip, N.Y.) also turned away three shots in the contest.

The Hawks improve to 7-6-1 (5-1-0 CCC); while the Golden Bears dip to 2-10-2 (0-5-1 CCC).

“This was our second win and second straight shutout in the last few days,” said Head Coach Tim Moody. “We didn't play our best or most entertaining soccer today, but we found a way to win and score a good goal. We made hard work of it today, compared to the high level of play we expect from ourselves and games we have won this season. We kept our nerve and finished the game out. We had a lot of the ball in both halves of the game, we controlled the ball and the tempo and this is what we wanted to do. We made the tackles and saves when we needed too and together got the result we deserved.

“It was a win, three more points to keep us in the hunt for a top finish in the conference. You want to be there at the top after the last kick of the regular season. Our focus is to repeat what we did today and win and get three more points when we play Wentworth on Saturday. We have a rest day tomorrow and then we will put together another game plan to play another team on the road. Our team is getting stronger and healthy again, so we are looking forward to having everyone available for selection.

“It is nice to see a different player stepping forward and leading the team to success. Our captains are doing a great job and the team chemistry we have right now is a big part of why we compete every time we step on the soccer pitch.”

Western New England returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 15) traveling to Curry at 5:00 p.m. for a CCC match. Roger Williams will face Wentworth on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

- Release courtesy Western New England University Sports Information Department