BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men’s Soccer team scored seven goals for the second consecutive game as they defeated Regis College in their final regular-season game to improve to 7-8-3 overall and 7-3-3 in TCCC (The Commonwealth Coast Conference) play.
Holding a two-goal advantage at the break, identical to the previous game in which they scored seven against Eastern Nazarene University, the RWU offense upped the ante after the interval and reaped the benefits to equal their season-high scoring total.
Right from the first whistle, the Hawks began possessing the ball, and were rewarded in the 7th minute when freshman Daniel Caruso (Tewksbury, Mass.) took a pass from sophomore Billy Kissane (Glastonbury, Conn.) and slid the ball past Regis keeper Ryne Tillman (Bedford, Mass.) for a one-goal advantage. The scoresheet would remain that way until there was 11:23 left in the half, as Jeff MacDonald (Auburn, Mass.), who scored two goals in the Hawks’ last game, found the net to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead which they would keep going into the break.
Regis nearly added its first goal of the game in the 22nd minute, when Chris Millington (Huntington, N.Y.) ran to a long outlet pass, bounced it off his chest and corralled it on the right side for a hard shot. Unfortunately for the Pride, Hawk keeper Peter Plate (Commack, N.Y.) made a diving shot to keep Regis off the scoreboard.
Just 4:59 into the second half, RWU added a third tally on the board. This time it would be Kissane doing the honors, as he let a shot fly from outside the box that bounced over Tillman and into the net. Three minutes later, Kissane fed Liam Isleib (Killingworth, Conn.), who ripped a shot that arrowed into the top left-hand corner of the net. Jared Falconer (Ludlow, Mass.) would be the next Hawk to get in on the scoring, chipping the ball over substitute Regis goalkeeper Stefan Todorovic (Valley Village, Calif.) to give the Hawks a 5-0 advantage.
Though RWU then earned a penalty kick after Todorovic brought down freshman Brian Swindell (Milford, Mass.) in the box, the Regis ‘keeper made amends, saving the RWU forward’s blast towards the bottom right-hand corner. However, it wouldn’t be long until Roger Williams found the net again, as freshman Ben Rondinone (Granby, Conn.) found classmate Henry Gould (Kennebunkport, Maine), on the right side of the box for the Hawks’ sixth goal of the day with 8:28 left.
Freshman Scott Boucher (Harwinton, Conn.) added the Hawks’ final tally of the day in the 83rd minute, with a put-back off of a deflected save by Todorovic off of a Swindell shot.
The Hawks outshot the Pride 54-7, marking a season high in shots for RWU, surpassing the previous mark of 44 set Saturday against Eastern Nazarene.
Plate earned the win, making two saves on the day in 70:38 of action before being relieved by Jon Pelloso (Wilbraham, Mass.). The Pride keepers combined for 17 stops on the day, with Tillman and Todorovic making eight and nine saves, respectively.
With the win, Roger Williams (7-8-3, 7-3-3 TCCC) earns the #5 seed in the upcoming TCCC Tournament and will travel south to Newport to play fourth-seeded Salve Regina University, who lost 1-0 earlier in the day to Gordon College. The Hawks are in action Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the TCCC Quarterfinals, while Regis concludes its season with an overall record of 4-12-2 and 1-10-2 in the conference.