Women’s Soccer heading back to CCC Championship Game

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team makes its return to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Game with a 1-0 win over Gordon College Tuesday afternoon.

The win puts the Roger Williams (17-2-3) back in the CCC Championship Game for the first time since 2012 and its fourth appearance in five seasons. Gordon will wait to see if it earned a berth to the ECAC Tournament.

Roger Williams managed to grab an early lead shortly into the game. In the third minute, a Fighting Scot foul led to a free kick for the Hawks. Kristen Casey (East Longmeadow, Mass.) stepped up with a free kick towards the middle of the box. Her boot sailed over the Fighting Scot defense and to Jenna Hart (Cheshire, Conn.), who turned and fired to the back of the net, giving RWU a 1-0 lead.

There were a couple of close calls on both sides, where the tide could have turned in either favor. In the 11th minute, Casey slipped attempted to clear the ball from the defensive end, allowing Gordon's Taylor McSherry (Wolcott, Conn.) to gain possession. McSherry had a one-on-one opportunity with RWU keeper Sydney Martin (Scarborough, Maine), but buried her shot wide into the right side of the net.

On the other side, Roger Williams' Jessica Valenti (North Reading, Mass.) had a good look at a shot in the 25th minute, shooting from the top right corner of the box. Yet Gordon's McKenzie Dion (North Grafton, Mass.) stepped up to punch the shot away. The loose ball found its way to Hart, who tried to pick up her second goal of the game. Gordon's Sammi Morren (Caledonia, Mich.) was in the right place at the right time, jumping in front of the ball to prevent a sure goal.

Then in the 40th minute, Kaelyn Silveira (Bristol, R.I.) kicked a long chip shot that sailed high and almost slipped into the upper right corner of the goal. However, her shot was just a bit long and bounced off the crossbar.

In the second half, the Hawks began to the tempo offensively, outshooting Gordon 5-1 and notching three corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the period. Throughout the rest of the half, Roger Williams maintained pressure on the offensive end. However, timely saves by Dion helped keep the Fighting Scot deficit to only one. Conversely, the Hawk defense did its job just as well, holding Gordon to only one shot over the remainder of the game to hold on for the win.

Martin had four saves for RWU in the shutout win, while Dion had nine stop. Emmalee Sloman (Oneonta, N.Y.) also had one save for Gordon, playing 7:08 in the first half after Dion went out briefly due to injury.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Kristen Casey: B; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#17 Jenna Hart: MF; 5' 7"; Sophomore

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

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

Players Mentioned

#6 Kristen Casey
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: B

#17 Jenna Hart
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: MF

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

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