Women's Soccer 10/25/2014 1:49:00 PM

Women’s Soccer wins thriller on Senior Day

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team used a late goal to slip by the University of New England, defeating the Nor'Easters 1-0 Saturday afternoon in the closing minutes.

Before the match, the team honored seniors Julie Loewenstein (Malta, N.Y.), Kristen Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.), and Rebecca Smith (Portland, Maine) for their efforts over the past four seasons with the program.

The Hawks came close to notching a goal three minutes into the game. A deflected shot by Jessica Valenti (North Reading, Mass.) bounced right to the foot of Smith, who has a clean look at the goal. She put up a shot, but had it just glance off the right post.

UNE had a close call in the 12th minute as well, with Nor'Easters forward Becca Murphy (Durham, N.H.) gaining possession in the box off of a failed clear on the ball by the defense. With a Hawk defender on her back, Murphy turned and fired from the right side but hooked the shot just wide.

Both teams swarmed towards ball throughout the first half, pressuring both the passer and receiver. As a result, clean scoring opportunities for Roger Williams and the University of New England were hard to come by. The two squads combined for 11 shots in the period but only three on goal.

The beginning of the second half saw the University of New England just miss a chance to take the lead. In the 49th minute, Lindsay Monaco (Holyoke, Mass.) set up for a free kick on the far right side. Katelyn Pierson (Saco, Maine) jumped towards the ball in the box and had a chance to tap the shot in midair, but just missed the ball.

The play of the second half closely mirrored that of the first, with strong ball pressure and contested shots. In the first 43 minutes period, Roger Williams managed to get four shots on goal but all were directly as UNE keeper Brielle Robinson (Monson, Mass.)

The game appeared to be headed for overtime before Valenti came through for RWU with just under two minutes to play. At the 1:15 mark, Mariah Kaiser (Portsmouth, R.I.) sent a cross pass over the defense into the left side of the box to Valenti. She managed to step just past a Nor'Easter defender and bang the shot to the middle of the goal for the game-winner.

Sydney Martin (Scarborough, Maine) had three saves for the Hawks in the shutout win, while Robinson made seven stops for UNE.

Both teams will close out the regular season on the road on Tuesday, with Roger Williams at Gordon and UNE at Curry.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#7 Mariah Kaiser: F; 5' 7"; Junior

#13 Julie Loewenstein: B; 5' 5"; Senior

#20 Rebecca Smith: B; 5' 5"; Senior

#16 Kristen Tetreault: F; 5' 8"; Senior

#8 Jessica Valenti: MF; 5' 5"; Junior

#1 Sydney Martin: GK; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#7 Mariah Kaiser
: 5' 7"; Junior
: F

#13 Julie Loewenstein
: 5' 5"; Senior
: B

#20 Rebecca Smith
: 5' 5"; Senior
: B

#16 Kristen Tetreault
: 5' 8"; Senior
: F

#8 Jessica Valenti
: 5' 5"; Junior
: MF

#1 Sydney Martin
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: GK