BRISTOL, R.I. – The two squads will meet for the second consecutive season and third time in the last four seasons, as No. 1 Roger Williams University will host No. 2 Suffolk University for the Conference of New England (CNE) Championship on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1:00 pm.
The Hawks and Rams have met a total of seven times since the 2021 season, with the Hawks holding the overall edge 4-0-3 over those meetings. The Hawks won the meeting earlier in the season, while the previous three before finished in draws. Suffolk took the 2024 title with a 1-1 draw, ahead of a 3-2 win in penalty kicks. In last year's meeting, the Rams were the No. 2 seed, with the Hawks reaching after a semifinal upset of top-seeded Endicott.
The Hawks are looking for their second conference title under head coach James Greenslit, who was named CNE Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a 13-1-5 record on the year, posting an 8-1-1 record in CNE action. For Suffolk, Bill Maddock will look for the same accomplishment after leading the Rams to their first CNE Title in 2024, after making their second appearance in program history. Maddock is in his sixth season with Suffolk, while Greenslit is in season 11 leading RWU.
The Hawks are coming off a thrilling 2-2 draw, advancing 5-4 on penalty kicks on Tuesday evening on Bayside Field against No. 5 Western New England. After conceding an early goal to the Golden Bears, the Hawks rebounded with two goals by Dylan Thomas (Norwalk, Conn.) to take a 2-1 lead into the halftime break. The Golden Bears leveled the match in the 85th minute.
After 20 minutes of extra time left the game knotted up, the two teams went into penalty kicks. After an initial save by Eliot Panaccione (Pepperell, Mass.) was called back, Tyler Lewis took advantage of his second opportunity and buried his attempt. The Hawks then sent out Brandon Rodriguez (Norwalk, Conn.), who did the same.
After both squads made their second and third attempts, Jack Leland missed on the Golden Bears fourth attempt, setting up Patrick Marino (Wyckoff, N.J.), who was able to give RWU the 4-3 lead. Brennan Johnson leveled the score on WNE's fifth attempt, but Jorge Beltran (Madrid, Spain) sealed a perfect PK finish for the Hawks to secure the fourth straight championship birth of the Hawks.
The Rams took a 2-1 win over No. 6 Endicott to secure their championship birth at home. Suffolk took a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute when Diego Pierantozzi scored off a deflected cross, and they doubled the advantage early in the second half on Matthew Belluardo's header from a Dylan Rowe corner. Though Endicott went down a man, the Gulls managed to cut the deficit in the 77th minute, but Suffolk held strong defensively in the final minutes.
Suffolk is led offensively by first-year Mohamed Mehaya, the league's Rookie of the Year, who tallied 29 points on the season with 11 goals and seven assists and is followed by Junior forward Francisco Valck who earned CNE Offensive Player of the Year honors, who tallied 19 points through 19 games with 16 starts. Diego Pierantozzi rounds out the top three point getters with seven goals and three assists, also receiving first-team recognition.
Suffolk's defensive back line is anchored by senior Belluardo, who was also a first-team honoree for the Rams, and junior defender Ricardo Feliciani, a second-team honoree, who appeared in each of Suffolk's 19 matches thus far. Both Nathan Harlow, who was named to the All-Conference Second Team goalkeeper, and Ian Caldwell have received key minutes throughout the season, with Harlow being the likely starter. Harlow has allowed nine goals on the year with 12 starts for a 0.820 save percentage, and an 8-2-1 record on the year with six shutouts.
The Hawks will counter in net with the CNE Goalkeeper of the Year in Panaccione, who has posted a 10-1-5 record through 16 matches, while playing 1460 minutes throughout the season with 12 goals allowed and a 0.778 save percentage on 42 saves with eight shutouts, facing 121 shots.
Joining Panaccione for the Hawks on the All-Conference First Team are Rodriguez and Tyler Jastrab (Townsend, Mass.). Rodriguez was a key contributor defensively and offensively for RWU from the back line, with three goals coming from the back line. Jastrab led the Hawks in total points with eight goals and an assist for 17 total points, tied with Second Team honoree Dylan Robbins (Johnston, R.I.), who made 13 starts for RWU with five goals and seven assists. Liam Blaisdell (Plymouth, Mass.) was also named to the All-Conference Second Team with Robbin, tallying eight points with a pair of goals and four assists on the year.
The Hawks and Rams will meet for the third time in the CNE Final on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 pm on Bayside Field in Bristol, R.I. This will be the second of the three meetings to take place in Bristol, with the home team taking the title in both meetings. The live stream for the game will be found on Northeast Sports Network (NSN).
