Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team staved off a strong push by Gordon College to come away with a 1-0 victory over the Fighting Scots Saturday afternoon.
 
The contest was the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both teams. The win for RWU snaps a four-game winless streak against Gordon dating back to 2014.
 
The part of the opening period saw the defense for both sides limit offensive chances. Roger Williams was held to only one shot in the first 30 minutes of play while Gordon's three shots were easily saved by Edmund Geschickter (Brookline, Mass.).
 
After a defensive stalemate for most of the first half, Roger Williams would strike first. In the 31^st minute, Stathi Panagiotidis (Norwalk, Conn.) took advantage of the Gordon defense playing off him and launched a long 25-yarder from the middle of the field into the right corner of the goal. His second tally of the year would put Roger Williams ahead 1-0.
 
RWU's 1-0 lead would hold for the remainder of the half. Despite only taking two shots in the period, the Hawks held a 50% conversion rate on their attempts. Gordon's six shots and three corner kicks were not enough to put a goal on the board in the opening frame.
 
Gordon had a shot to tie the game in the 61^st minute but was not able to convert. The Fighting Scots had the ball in the box, with Josh Beveridge (Anchorage, Alaska) slipping a pass backwards to Ian Burkhart (Lancaster, Pa.). Burkhart had an open shot on net, but kicked it too hard as it sailed wide right.
 
Then in the 67^th minute, Matt Chartier (Concord, N.H.) was alone coming down on the left side and had a clean shot to score. However, Geschickter made a crucial diving save to his right to prevent the Fighting Scots from scoring.
 
The game-saving play came in the 80^th minute when a Hawk foul in the box led to a penalty kick for Ben Gradert. Gradert would line up a shot to his left, but a diving save by Geschickter kept the Fighting Scots off the board and ultimately led to the RWU victory.
 
Geschickter had eight saves for RWU in the shutout, while Gordon's Wesley Sprague (Naperville, Ill.) made three saves.
 
Roger Williams heads to Regis on Monday, while Gordon hosts Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday.