BRISTOL, R.I.  – An overtime penalty kick gave the Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team 1-0 win over Suffolk University Tuesday afternoon in the final regular season game for both squads.
 
Hawk Highlights
Javi Beltran: 1 goal, 6 shots, 3 shots on goal
Tyler Andrade: 2 shots, 1 shot on goal
Jack Avellar: 3 saves, 0 goals allowed, 91:34 minutes in goal
 
For The Opponents
Miguel Varela: 4 shots, 1 shot on goal
Brady Sorensen: 4 shots
Alfredo Serrano Figueroa: 6 saves, 1 goal allowed, 91:34 minutes in goal
 
How It Happened
Both teams braved the elements in a cold, windy, and rainy day. It proved to be a game of attrition, with ball possession being crucial for both sides.
 
In the seventh minute, Roger Williams had two scoring chances snuffed out by heads-up plays by Suffolk keeper Alfredo Serrano Figueroa (Madrid, Spain). Jack Wetzel (Northport, N.Y.) had his crossing pass across the box intercepted by Figueroa, then shortly after Figueroa saved a shot attempt by Austin Hilger (Old Saybrook, Conn.).
 
The Roger Williams midfield and defense were able to limit most of Suffolk's offensive opportunities throughout the early part of the first half. Suffolk's lone shot in the first 20 minutes of play was a weak shot by Miguel Varela (Milton, Mass.) that was easily saved by Jack Avellar (Orleans, Mass.).
 
The Hawks' final chance to score in the first half came in the final minute.  A misplayed clear by Suffolk ended up in a loose ball that Ryan Miller (Hillsdale, N.J.) came up with. Miller had a good look on net, but fired his shot too hard and far wide right, keeping the game scoreless entering the second half.
 
The beginning of the second half saw both sides put together a multitude of scoring chances. Suffolk nearly took the lead three minutes into the second half. A throw-in by Alexander Heghinian (Salem, N.H.) gave way to a breakaway opportunity by Brady Sorensen (Plymouth, Mass.). Sorensen had a clear shot on net, but pushed it just wide left as it deflected off the post.
 
Two minutes later, the Hawks had an equally good chance to score, with John McCarthy (Hampstead, N.H.) finding the ball in the middle of the box and a one-on-one chance with the keeper. However, his shot went far left to keep the score at nil. On the other end, Varela served up a shot that went just wide left.
 
In the 57^th minute, a flurry of shots by Roger Williams did not amount to a score, with Jack Wetzel (Northport, N.Y.), CJ Sousa (Fall River, Mass.), and Justin Horvath (Stratford, Conn.) all attempting to score for the Hawks to no avail. Then later in the 74^th minute, Suffolk's Jack Phelps (Westborough, Mass.) had his shot punched over the net by Avellar to keep the Rams off the board.
 
With four minutes to play, Sorensen bent a 25-yarder from the right side that just missed the upper left corner of the net, followed by RWU's Javi Beltran (Madrid, Spain) having his shot denied by Figueroa. Those two plays would be key to sending the game to overtime.
 
The game would be decided a minute and a half into the extra period. A hard foul in the box by Suffolk led to a penalty kick opportunity for Beltran. Beltran stepped up and booted the golden goal into the back of the net to give the Hawks a win in their final regular season game.

Coach's Corner
The coaching staff and the team went into the game knowing that the elements were going to play a huge factor in the style of soccer that would be played by both teams. A slick surface and gusty winds are not conducive for a pretty-possession-style game. Therefore, we often had to play for territory. We thought our team did well defending long balls, long throws in to the box, and minimizing mistakes on the back line. Offensively, we would have loved to finished our opportunities earlier in the game, but again we understood the weather was going to be another opponent for both teams. All things considered, we got out of there with a win, our seventh of the season in conference, and a solidified home game for the first round of playoffs. We are in a great spot to be successful, and could not be more excited for Saturday, our first home playoff game in over seven years. 

What's Next
Roger Williams (10-6-3, 7-1-1 CCC): Saturday, October 30 (CCC Quarterfinals)
Suffolk (8-8-1, 4-5-0 CCC): Thursday, October 28 (CCC Opening Round)