BRISTOL, R.I. – For the sixth consecutive year, it is the Hawks and the Gulls in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship game as the top-seeded Roger Williams University Women's Lacrosse team looks to repeat as CCC champs, but a familiar face stands in their way in the form of second-seeded Endicott College on Saturday.
 
RWU looks to put the finishing touches on a nearly flawless season and claim their third conference crown in program history and make it back-to-back banners for the first time. On the other side, the Gulls are just as comfortable as the hosts are in this spot, and are looking to become 13-time winners of the CCC Title game.
 
For The Hawks
Roger Williams has rolled through the season to this point. They opened the season by dropping a contest to Springfield College in the final seconds but since then, they are undefeated to stand at 15-1 while they went 8-0 in CCC action to clinch the top seed in the conference playoffs. There, they encountered Salve Regina University after a first-round bye and they dispatched of the Seahawks, 20-4 to earn the right to defend their crown.
 
"We are very excited with the progress we have made over the last four months," Head Coach Amanda Magee said. "Our consistency has been great as has our work ethic and championship mentality."
 
There is little doubt that the Hawks are among the best teams not only in the conference, but in the region as a whole. Defensively, RWU ranks ninth in Division III Women's Lacrosse surrendering a meager 6.25 goals per game while also possessing the third-most potent offense netting 19.19 goals per game making them one of four teams in the nation to rank in the top-ten in both categories.
 
The best attribute of the Roger Williams offense is how unpredictable they are. The Hawks have four players who rank in the top-ten in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in goals scored this season while no other team in the conference has more than one and they also possess a pair of top-six distributers. RWU is efficient too, and they find the back of the net on a robust 54.2% of their shots this year, a mark that is the fifth best in the nation.
 
"We have a balanced attack with multiple threats," Magee said. "We have multiple players being able to drive, assist, score, or just draw attention from the defense."
 
Leading the attack is the Commonwealth Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Mandy Beck (Old Saybrook, Conn.). Experiencing a full season for the first time in Bristol, Beck has exploded to be the most dynamic offensive player in the conference and ranks tied for fourth in goals with 50, and sixth in assists with 23. She has done this damage in a comparatively limited workload too, and she is the only player in the top-five in the conference in scoring who has not reached triple-digits in shot attempts.
 
Providing support is fifth-year attacker Devon Sarazin (Falmouth, Maine). The All-CCC Second Teamer has recorded 43 goals this season, the sixth-most in the league and second-most on the team and the word efficient may not properly explain how good Sarazin is at taking advantage of her chances. No player with 60 or more shot attempts in the CCC get their looks on net at a better rate as she owns an 89.5 shot on goal percentage. Using the same qualifier of 60 shot attempts, only two players have scored at a higher rate than Sarazin and they are both on her own team: Ryleigh Cavanaugh (Manchester, N.H.) and Lily Cunningham (Melrose, Mass.).
 
An All-CCC First Team selection, Cavanaugh is simply the CCC's most efficient scorer finding the back of the net on 65.1% of her shots and it has resulted in her ranking tied for eighth in goals scored with 41 while she's added 14 helpers. Meanwhile, Cunningham, who is an All-CCC Second Team selection herself, owns an identical scoring breakdown with 41 goals and 14 assists this season scoring on 58.6% of her shots. In addition to their scoring prowess, both Cavanaugh and Cunningham are exceptional at corralling draws as they rank third and eighth in the CCC with 78 and 63 respectively.
 
Setting up all these scoring options is the all-conference first team selection, Nikki Norton (Braintree, Mass.). Norton has pilled up 40 assists this season, the second-most in the league and tied for the 33^rd most in the nation. She's just as potent when she decides to score herself as she has 28 goals this year, more than any other player who ranks in the CCC's top-five in assists.
 
RWU can score as well as anyone but as the saying goes, offense wins games, but defense wins championships, and the Hawks are great at that too.
 
"Our defense is great at communicating and matchup very well in man-to-man," Magee said. "Hannah Goodwin is awesome in goal and Madi Drain is a vocal leader and does a great job keeping us organized."
 
Anchoring the squad in net is All-CCC First Team goalkeeper, Hannah Goodwin (Bradford, Mass.). While not often tested thanks to the suffocating defense in front of her, Goodwin is terrific when challenged resulting in a 49.7% save percentage that ranks second in the conference. Her 6.62 goals against average is sixth in DIII Women's Lacrosse and is a full three goals lower than that of the next best mark in the CCC. As a result, Goodwin has 15 wins this season to lead the conference.
 
The team's top individual defender is Madi Drain (Waterboro, Maine). Drain's impact is only partially reflected in the stats where she is 14^th in the CCC and third on the Hawks in caused turnovers (18) and fourth on the RWU roster with 24 ground balls. She is invaluable to the Roger Williams defense as a player that alters gameplans for the opposition with her unmatched defensive play that has made her a three-time All-CCC First Team selection, including this season.
 
Alongside Drain is Brooke McErlain (Hampton, N.H.) and Kimmy Creegan (Ramsey, N.J.). Both tend to play more in the midfield and attacking zone, but it does not alter their effectiveness at all, and they were both named to the all-conference second team. The freshman Creegan has had no problem adjusting to college lacrosse and leads the Hawks and ranks tied for ninth in the CCC with 38 ground balls. McErlain meanwhile, is a do-it-all player who has 19 caused turnovers and has found her stride offensively late in the season, totaling 22 goals this spring.
 
For The Gulls
Endicott stands at 13-6 on the season and have gone 7-1 in CCC play on their way to the second seed in the conference playoffs. In the postseason, the Gulls have picked up a blowout win over Wentworth, 19-1 in the Quarterfinals before beating Western New England in a high-scoring affair, 24-12. EC has won their last four games, including the postseason.
 
"I expect Endicott to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us," Magee said. "With our storied history it is sure to be an epic battle and I cannot wait for it!"
 
The Gulls possess an offense that ranks 40^th in the nation in scoring 15.53 goals per game. Like Roger Williams, Endicott applies a lot of pressure by getting a lot of shots on net with their 79.5% shot on goal percentage that is second only to RWU in the conference and also like RWU, EC can strike with a lot of different players.
 
Endicott had a CCC-high ten players named all-conference and are led by All-CCC First Teamer Morgan Pike (Shapleigh, Maine). The conference's top scorer, Pike has 58 goals this season though she has accumulated that total in 19 games. Nonetheless, her 53.7% shooting percentage does showcase her efficiency as a scorer.
 
Pike is one of five Gulls to have 30 or more goals this season to rank in the top-20 in the conference. Their second-leading scorer is Alex Palermo (Reading, Mass.) who has 39 goals and ten assists this season. Behind her is Kiana Napolitano (Revere, Mass.) with 34, Katie Schenk (Southbury, Mass.) with 32, and Carly Pierce (Exeter, N.H.) who has 30 goals. All three are also very active on the draw to rank second, third, and fourth on the roster in draw controls.
 
Leading Endicott in draw controls is the Commonwealth Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Gabriella Prisco (West Haven, Conn.) and she is a game-wrecker. She has caused 48 turnovers this spring, a mark that comes out to an average of 2.53 per game to rank 30^th nationally. Prisco also leads the Gulls and is fifth in the league with 45 ground balls this season.
 
Lydia Atkins (Edina, Minn.) will man the goal for Endicott where she earned All-CCC Second Team honors this season after posting a 13-6 record. Her 45.7 save percentage does not pop as it ranks fourth in the conference, but her 9.89 goals against average certainly does with that mark being good for third in the CCC.
 
Previous Matchups
It is quite common for Roger Williams and Endicott to encounter each other in the CCC Championship game. This season is the 20^th CCC Championship since the conference added Women's Lacrosse in 2001 and since then, it has been Hawks versus Gulls half of the time. In the ten previous meetings in the CCC title game, EC is 7-2 but it was RWU who came out on the winning end last season, 14-8.
 
In the regular season contest between the two squads was a barnburner with 35 combined goals being scored in the game up in Beverly that saw the Hawks win, 20-15. Mandy Beck scored seven times for RWU in the contest, but the 15 goals allowed is also the most the team has allowed in a single game. Endicott holds the edge head-to-head all-time, 23-6.
 
How To Follow Along
Bring your rain ponchos and your cold weather gear because it will be a wet one on Saturday for the CCC Championship game beginning at 12:00 PM at Bayside Field. If you opt to not brave the elements, you can still follow along at the links below.
 
VIDEO: https://rwuhawks.com/sports/2013/3/5/wlax_live_video.aspx
 
LIVE STATS:https://rwuhawks.com/sidearmstats/wlax/summary