BRISTOL, R.I. – For the first time this fall, the Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team earned a spot in the United Soccer Coaches Regional Rankings slotting in at number seven in Region II it was announced on Tuesday. 
 
"Our team has worked incredibly hard throughout the season to be able to earn a regional ranking in the last week,," Head Coach James Greenslit said. "We had a difficult start but I could not be more proud of the perseverance within our team to finish the regular season and conference play so strong. They have earned that ranking and should be proud of what they have accomplished during the regular season. Now it is time to turn the page and focus on winning three games to get into the NCAA tournament."

"We played a tough out of conference schedule that helped prepare for our successes in the season second half of our season and in conference play," added Assistant Coach David Majetich. "But this realty comes down to our great in-conference success this season and our play recently. We have done a really good job of late and as a result we are in a good spot to enjoy success in the conference tournament."
 
The Hawks rise to number seven after a standout week against a pair of regionally-ranked foes. Following a non-conference loss to Johnson & Wales, Roger Williams rebounded with some great showings in conference play. Last Wednesday, RWU beat the then number-six Gordon College, 1-0 before coming away with a 1-1 tie against number-eight Salve Regina University on Saturday. After their 1-1-1 week, the Hawks sat at 9-6-3 on the season at the time of the poll.
 
"We had a really good gameplan going into both contests that allowed us to shutdown their good players," Majetich said about their last two games. "And then the guys really listened and implemented that gameplan really well. Both games were a testament to how college soccer game can go. We would have loved to get the win outright against Salve Regina but in the end, we came away from both games thinking we were the better team."
 
Roger Williams is the top CCC squad in the ranking slotting just ahead of Endicott College who comes in at number-eight.  The team has been rolling since the start of conference play in mid-September. Since their CCC opener they are 8-3-1 with their only blemishes being a loss to the then number-eight nationally ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Endicott, and JWU along with their draw against Salve Regina. Furthermore, since their loss to Endicott, the Hawks are 5-1-1.
 
RWU features a very strong team on both ends of the pitch. Defensively this season, they rank fifth in the CCC with a 1.39 goals against average, while also scoring 1.94 goals per game.
 
 
REGION II - POLL 7 - OCTOBER 26, 2021
Rank  School                                                     Prev   W-L-T
1        Massachusetts Institute Of Technology     1        13-2-1
2        Babson College                                         2          8-4-3
3        Springfield College                                    3          9-5-0
4        United States Coast Guard Academy        7        10-4-1
5        Wheaton College (Mass.)                          4        10-5-0
6        Worcester Polytechnic Institute                 5          8-4-3
7        Roger Williams University                        NR        9-6-3
8        Endicott College                                       NR        7-6-2