By Britney Dixon

Last Saturday, the Roger Williams University women’s soccer team was upset by the eighth seeded Gordon College Fighting Scots in a 2-1 deficit in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinals game.

RWU started off the game well. Some tough offense in the first half saw the Hawks with almost all of the momentum, keeping Gordon far from the net and allowing only one shot on goal. The Lady Hawks had 15 attempts, but could not capitalize on them. With only 18 minutes left in the first half, Gordon brought the energy to rally against Roger Williams.

A sudden offensive surge by the Fighting Scots almost netted them the first goal of the game. However, their determination was halted by Roger Williams goalie, junior Sydney Martin, who made a diving save in the net to stop the surge and push Gordon back to working on defense. RWU took a total of eight corner kicks in the first half of the game and suffered from two offsides rulings. The first half of the game resulted in no score.

In the second half, both teams returned to the field with an abundance of energy. At the 63rd minute mark of the game, RWU freshman Alli Santacrose scored the team’s first goal of the day and her first goal of the season. The goal was completed by a cross pass to the right side from senior captain Jenna Hart; Santacrose shot it off of the crossbar, allowing the ball to roll into the net. This gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately the Hawks’ momentum was lost after their forward, sophomore Raleigh LeMiere-Barnes, received a yellow card. Shortly after, Gordon capitalized on the yellow card and made two successful goals: a 30-yard kick that slipped through Martin’s hands, and an assisted pass from the left side which led to an open right-side corner goal. This would prove to be the difference maker as the Fighting Scots would go on to win the game 2-1, eliminating the Hawks from the playoff race.

This loss ended Roger Williams’ season with a 10-8-2 record. Last season, the Hawks ended with a 20-1-3 record. This season was started out rough for the team, but the Hawks were able to fight back and regain the number one spot in the conference, even with the tough competition this season.

The Hawks won seven out of their nine Commonwealth Coast Conference games this season even without a home-field advantage for over half of them. On the season, Hart led the team with four assists, 14 points, a 0.125 shot percentage, a 0.625 shot on goal percentage, and three game winning goals. Junior Kasey Provost led the team with six goals. Other key athletes this season were freshman Erica Broderick and sophomore Raleigh LeMiere-Barnes.

“I will never forget these past four season or the girls that were apart of it,” reflected senior captain Kristen Casey on the season.

“We may have not finished the season the way we wanted to,” Casey states, “but we made a huge accomplishment by finishing first in the conference from where we were at in the beginning of our season.”

The Roger Williams Hawks have plenty of strong seasons ahead of them, including upcoming teams with plenty of talent to remain at the top of the CCC in seasons to come. All of this season’s captains are eager to return to watch their team succeed next year and see all of their improvements.