CHICOPEE, Mass. – Top-seeded Western New England defeated the fifth-seeded Roger Williams Men's Soccer team 2-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship semifinals on Thursday (Nov. 3) at Leary Field on the campus of Elms College.

Western New England, ranked 23rd nationally, will host third-seeded Nichols on Saturday (Nov. 5) at 1:00 p.m. to decide the CCC Championship. The Bison advanced thanks to a 2-1 overtime win at Gordon.

The Golden Bears grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute as sophomore forward Ryan Williams (Brewster, N.Y.) pounced on a loose ball in front of the goal to put home his seventh tally of the season.

Sophomore forward Jake Bartnik (East Longmeadow, Mass.) put WNE up 2-0 in the 38th minute as he gracefully tucked home a tough angle shot to finish off a through ball from classmate Ryan Mastalerz (Elkridge, Md.).

Bartnik, who also has seven goals on the year, had a pair of great chances go off the post in the early going.

The Hawks made things interesting down the stretch, as junior midfielder Billy Kissane (Glastonbury, Conn.) converted a free kick from just outside the box in the 82nd minute to cut the lead to 2-1.

RWU applied steady pressure in the closing minutes, but the Golden Bears defense held up to the test.

Western New England held a slight 15-12 edge in shots, and had a 7-4 edge in shots on target.

Sophomore goalkeeper Domenick Villano (Bronxville, N.Y.) came up with three saves in to earn the victory in net.

RWU sophomore goalie Jon Pelloso (Wilbraham, Mass.) turned away five shots to keep his side in the game.

Roger Williams closes out the season with a record of 11-4-5.

- Release courtesy of the Western New England University Sports Information Department