WENHAM, Mass. — In the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship today hosted by Gordon, the No. 2 seeded Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team upset the top ranked Fighting Scots, 1-0, to claim their third consecutive CCC title.

 Both teams proved in the early going why they were the top two teams in the conference, dueling for possession and creating good opportunities on their respective offensive ends. The Scots nearly took the lead on two occasions when senior captain Karina Scavo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) ripped a direct kick from 20 yards off the crossbar and sophomore midfielder Hannah Midwinter (Barkhamsted, Conn.) later sailed a shot just high from 30 yards out.

Despite those chances, however, neither team was able to break the silence, leaving the game in a 0-0 stalemate at the midway point.

With the wind at their backs for the second half, the Hawks applied heavy offensive pressure throughout, outshooting the Scots 17-3 and finally finding the back of the net in the 76th minute when Kristen Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.) slid and tucked the game-winner to the right post off a slot ball from Haley Carignan (Scarborough, Maine).

Gordon had several looks at the equalizer down the stretch, but in the end RWU's defense buckled down to turn away each of the Scots' attempts and preserve the one-goal victory.

Keeper Kari Christensen (Standish, Maine) had an outstanding day in the cage for the Scots, turning away 15 total shots including multiple critical stops in the second half to keep the game tight.

Roger Williams netminder Stephanie Jaques (Burlington, Vt.) earned her 12th win of the season with three saves.

“We were awesome today; from the start, when we had breakfast, traveling on the bus, warm up, the game and after the game,” said Head Coach Tim Moody. “Everything just fell into place as we had planned.

“We fully deserved to win the game. We deserved to be champions. We had a great deal of self-belief, the coaches and the players knew what the game plan was and executed it to perfection.

“We had the right mindset and frame of mind to win this big game. We took a lot of positives out of the last time we played Gordon. We lost that game but controlled the match. And today we did the same thing but this time we won too. We kept the ball, controlled the tempo, created more chances, and scored a great goal to win it. Everybody at the match today saw a great game of soccer. They were entertained; two very good teams battled it out for 90 minutes. It was a great advertisement for CCC Soccer, D3 soccer and the women's game.

“In the first half we played into the wind and were able to keep it even. In the second half with the wind our supremacy showed and came into play. If you look at the shots on goal stats, it was only going to be a matter of time before we scored.

“We were outstanding at the back. Our back four defenders didn't allow their quality forwards many chances to test our keeper and on the one occasion they had a chance Jaques made the save.

“We caused them a lot of problems in the final third and Haley Carignan who could have been the MVP of the match was tremendous. From kick off you could see she meant business. Her hold up play and her trickery was the deciding factor. She beat two players, turned them inside out and crossed a great ball into the box. She found Tate who was not going to be denied six yards out. She wanted to score and lost her marker, beating the keeper to the ball and sliding it into the back of the net. It was a great goal to win a great match to bring the trophy back to Bristol.

“It was a total team effort. We won this as a team, a rebuilding team, a team in transition, a team with a lot of new faces. We believed it could be done from day one in preseason. Some people thought it wasn't going to be our year. But we stayed focused, worked hard and got better every day. It is a great feeling to see your dreams come true!

“This could be the best RWU Women's Soccer team ever. We beat a Gordon team that was 17-2. We played them on their grass pitch, and tore them apart in the second half. We won in regulation. We beat a very good Salve team in the quarters, beat Endicott in the semis who won the New England ECAC's. Last year we won in overtime, the year before on penalties. We are excited for the future.

“We now get to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

The Scots round out their 2012 campaign at 17-3 overall while the Hawks, now 12-6-3, earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

- Release courtesy of the Gordon College Sports Information Department