BRISTOL, R.I. – The No. 4 seeded Roger Williams men's lacrosse team is set to battle the No. 5 seeded Western New England Golden Bears at Bayside Field in Bristol, R.I. on Saturday afternoon for the first round of the Conference of New England playoff tournament.
Following a tough double overtime loss in their season finale to Wentworth, the Hawks were forced into the four seed. Wentworth would claim the two seed in the upcoming playoff tournament, securing a first-round bye.
The Hawks finished their season at 9-8 overall and 5-3 in Conference of New England play, while their opponent, Western New England, finished 8-9 overall and 5-3 in CNE play. The Hawks come into the matchup having won five of their last seven, while the Golden Bears have dropped four of their last seven. They wrapped up their regular season with a win over Nichols on Wednesday evening.
The two teams will be matched up exactly two weeks after they met in the regular season, a game that saw Roger Williams prevail with a 11-7 victory at Bayside Field.
The Hawks and the Golden Bears are no strangers to each other in the conference playoff tournament as they met in a semi-final matchup last season, where the Golden Bears would claim a 16-11 victory before eventually falling to Endicott in the conference championship.
For Roger Williams, some key names to keep an eye on are Matt Hemmert and Jack Kester on the offensive side of the ball and Kyle Zirn on the defensive end. Hemmert has racked up 48 points on the season, including 33 goals, pacing the conference with an average of three goals a game. Kester has tallied a team-high 49 points on the year, finishing the season to three in the conference in assists per game. He also sits inside the top 10 in points per game. Zirn, on the defensive end has been a force all year, pacing the conference in caused turnovers per game with 3.12. His 3.12 mark is a full caused turnover more per game than anyone else in the conference.
For the Golden Bears, Jack Houlden leads the team with 41 points behind 35 goals on the season. His 2.06 goals per game mark is good for eight best in the conference. In the midfield, Griffin Larochelle and Logan Jenkins have been a force for the Golden Bears, combining for 62 points, behind 38 goals and 24 assists.
The winner of the matchup will go on to play either No. 1 seeded Endicott or No. 2 seeded Wentworth on Wednesday evening on the road.
