Photo by Trey Powers

Tyger Allen | Herald Reporter

The Roger Williams University women’s soccer team faced off against their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival, Endicott College, last Saturday.

The Endicott Gulls’ last CCC game was against Eastern Nazarene College, where they routed their opponent 7-0. The game drew a crowd of around 150 fans from both schools and kicked off at 3 p.m. on Bayside Field. The Hawks won their last CCC game against Gordon College when they won 1-0 in front of another strong home crowd.

Early in Saturday’s game, the Hawks were given a corner kick taken by sophomore Morgan Snow. As the ball crossed into the box, sophomore Kayla LaRosa kicked it off the top of the cross bar, missing the back of the net by just a few inches.

Late in the first half, Endicott stole the ball and looked to capitalize on an error by the Hawks’ defense. Senior goalkeeper Natalie O’Donovan dove across the goal to turn the shot aside and keep the game scoreless. The Hawks prepared for the strong offense and allowed just two shots on goal in the first half. To counter, the Hawks took six total shots, but landed three on goal.

In the second half, the Hawks held the Gulls to just one shot on goal that was saved by goalkeeper Natalie O’Donovan. The Hawks looked to net a goal, but were stopped by Endicott on both of their second half shots on goal. Looking for a late goal, the Hawks found themselves with another scoring opportunity when a blocked shot led to a clear chance for the offense, but Endicott’s goalkeeper stopped the attempt. The final horn sounded and the teams tried to settle the game in overtime.

“Throughout the game, we were able to keep a little more possession than the opposing team,” said junior Arianna Delli Carpini. “Endicott was a very physical team and we held our own and fought back.”

The first overtime period provided back and forth play and the teams recorded one shot on goal each.

In the next overtime period, Endicott swarmed the Hawks’ goal and landed two shots on goal, but the closest scoring chance came from a shot from sophomore Alli Santacroce. On a free kick, Santacroce drove the ball towards the goal, but placed it just over the Endicott crossbar.

The defense and goalkeeping kept the Gulls off the board and gave each team their first in-conference tie of the season.

“I think the game went pretty well. We made a lot of really good opportunities for ourselves and we should be really proud of that,” said junior Maddie Neri. “Now, our next goal is to work on finishing those opportunities so that if we see them again in the playoffs, we can finish the game with a win.”