Roger Williams Downs Nichols 6-2 in CCC Quarterfinals

BRISTOL, R.I. – With a burst of energy in the second half, the second-seeded Roger Williams University Women's Soccer team defeated the number seven seed Nichols College 6-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinals on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Bayside Field.

Senior forward Laurin Pendleton (Southwick, Mass.) led the Hawks with three goals, all in the second half. Junior midfielder Maddy Howard (Medfield, Mass.), sophomore forward Hannah Noel (Adams, Mass.), and freshman midfielder Kristen Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.) each added with goals of their own to lead the Hawks into the semifinal round of the CCC Tournament.

Despite the rain, which interfered heavily on the play of the game, the Hawks controlled the ball through most of the game, keeping possession through quick passes and nifty moves that allowed them move the ball up field with relative ease. However, even with the Hawks' maintain offensive control throughout most of the half, Nichols got on the board first with 8:35 remaining in the first period. Erica Antonison (Albertson, N.Y.) knocked in a corner kick by Kaitlyn DiBuono (Auburn, Mass.) to give the Bison a 1-0 lead.

RWU would tie the game at one with a goal by Tetreault similar to that of Antonison's, shooting in an Alexa Maher (Hopewell, N.J.) corner. Her fifth goal of the season sent the game into halftime tied 1-1.

Roger Williams exploded in the second half, scoring five goals to put the game out of reach. Pendleton, in as a substitution off the bench, took a pass from Noelle Marston (Kingston, Mass.) in the box and scored at the 67:31 mark to give the Hawks the permanent lead. Howard and Noel added scores to give the Hawks' a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Alyssa Tosti (Douglas, Mass.) notched a late score in the 84th minute on a chip from Maria DiTommaso (Rindge, N.H.) to bring Nichols within two. Yet the Hawks earned the goal right back, as Pendleton scored in the final minute for her fifth career hat-trick, improving to six goals on the season and three shy of the school record.

With the win, Roger Williams (12-6-1) moves on to play #3 Salve Regina University, who defeated Eastern Nazarene 2-1 earlier in the day in double overtime, on Wednesday afternoon at 1 pm. Nichols closes out its season with a record of 6-9-1.

Release Courtesy Roger Williams Sports Information