BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team tied 1-1 against Western New England University in double overtime on Tuesday night in the Commonwealth Coast Conference regular season finale at RWU's Bayside Field.
 
For most of the first ten minutes of the game, the Hawks were able to keep possession of the ball. However were only able to create two shots on net, both by Bailey Lavoilette (Agawam, Mass.). Shortly following at the 13^th minute of the first half, Kayla LaRosa (Newington, Conn.) was able to send a strong pass toward goal for RWU, but was broken up by WNEU's Kristin Decost (Hudson, N.H.).
 
With 29:41 left in the first half, a hand ball in the box for the Golden Bears helped put the Hawks on the board after a successful penalty kick by Raleigh LeMiere-Barnes (Los Angeles, Calif.).  
 
WNEU responded quickly by pressuring RWU's defense with back-to-back shots in the 18^th minute by Christina Sordi (Bethlehem, Conn.) and Allison Bruehwiler (Old Saybrook, Conn.), which forced diving saves from Morgan Strassburg (Longmeadow, Mass.).
 
The Golden Bears continued with the offensive pressure with 12 minutes left in the first half when Bruehwiler found Bee Murphy (Monson, Mass.) for an open shot in the Hawks' defensive box that deflected off of the crossbar and over the net. Roger Williams would go into halftime leading 1-0.
 
The Golden Bears came close to tying the game in the 56^th minute with a shot off of a corner kick by Autumn Hathaway (Colchester, Vt.) that just barely went wide. A few minutes later, the Hawks' Maddie Neri (Upton, Mass.) took a strong shot at the top of the box that also went just wide.
 
With nine minutes remaining in the second half, WNEU's Sordi was able to find the back of the net off of a corner kick by Murphy to keep the Golden Bears in the game. Despite a shot by LeMiere-Barnes in the 85^th minute, the score remained 1-1 which forced overtime.
 
One minute into overtime, Decost had a strong shot that went wide to put pressure on RWU's defense. With three minutes left in the first overtime, the Golden Bears had another strong shot by Hathaway but the score remained 1-1.
 
After four minutes into the second overtime, the Hawks were able to create a foul at the top of the box. Despite shots off of the foul and an awarded corner kick, the Golden Bears defense kept RWU off the board, as the game ended with the final score of 1-1.
 
Strassburg had four saves for the Hawks. Alex Lemekha (Stamford, Conn.) finished with six saves for the Golden Bears.
 
"This turned out to be our last home contest of the season and it turned out to be missed opportunities," said Head Coach Tim Moody. "However, we competed, didn't throw in the towel and played well against a good team with good players.
 
"Both teams had chances to break the stalemate and win the competition but it wasn't to be and was probably a fair result in the end. We could have won it on a last minute free kick but their keeper made a great save, to save the day for them.
 
"We knew we had to win the game to host a first-round playoff game and anything else would not help. We scored early and got ahead but couldn't finish them off. We controlled the game and looked comfortable for most of the match.
 
"If we had defended a corner better we would have kept the clean sheet we wanted and won the game one nil. But, it is a good lesson going into the playoffs. If you stay focused, understand the situation and manage it a little better you achieve better results.
 
"We gave it a go and it was a big improvement from Saturday, so we are going in the right direction. It has been an exciting season with teams beating each other and the Championship is up for grabs, so we are still in it to win it!"

Both Roger Williams' (7-10-1,4-3-1 CCC) and Western New England's (4-1-3, 8-7-3 CCC) opponents in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, beginning Saturday, are to be determined.