Women's Lacrosse Wins First-Ever CCC Championship
With a big victory in their first CCC championship title, the Hawks move on to the NCAA tournament
BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Lacrosse team earned its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship on Saturday with a 16-7 win over Endicott College.
A second-half barrage by Roger Williams pushed the Hawks to the win. After a 5-all tie entering halftime, RWU scored 11 unanswered goals to put the game out of reach and earn the title.
Jackie Neilsen (Agawam, Mass.) struck first for Endicott, scoring nine minutes into the game. RWU would take the lead on goals by Marin Owens (Brookline, N.H.) and Kaelin Hogan (Bethel, Conn.) with 18 minutes left in the first half.
Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) logged back-to-back goals for the Gulls to put them back up by one, but Owens and McKenna Everding (Fayetteville, N.Y.) struck right back for RWU with goals for a 4-3 Hawk advantage.
Jackie Healy (Northborough, Mass.) and Caitlin Murphy (Londonderry, N.H.) traded goals for each team before Whitney tallied the final score of the half to tie the game at five.
In the second period, Everding opened with a goal five minutes in to put the Hawks back up by one. Her score would spark an 11-0 run over most of the second half to put the game out of reach for Endicott. Hogan, Murphy, Carly Martin (Scituate, Mass.), and Emily Stoeppel (Brookline, Conn.) each scored twice for RWU over the span.
The Hawks defense stifled Endicott throughout the second half. The Gulls were held scoreless until just under the final two minutes of the game, when Olivia Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) and Erin McCarthy (Old Lyme, Conn.) each scored.
Caitlin Shanahan (Forest Hill, Md.) helped lead the Hawk defense with four caused turnovers in the game, while Serena Murphy (Brewster, N.Y.) and Elizabeth Cahn (Baltimore, Md.) added two caused turnovers each. In addition, the team held Endicott to only two shots total in the entire second half.
Martin led RWU with a career-high nine points on three goals and a career-high six assists. Murphy, Owens, Hogan also each scored three goals for the Hawks, while Everding and Stoppel both added two goals each. Kimberly Bolk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) needed only two saves for the win.
Whitney led the Gulls with four points on three goals and an assist. Healy added three points on a goal and two assists. Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) made 13 saves in the loss in 43:53 of action.
Roger Williams (15-3) will find out its NCAA opponent on Monday, while Endicott ends the year at 8-10.