Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – Roger Williams University men's soccer clinched a top-two seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) playoffs with a 1-1 draw over in-state rival Salve Regina University at Bayside Field. The defense was strong throughout the contest while Justin Horvath (Stratford, Conn.) found the back of the net for the Hawks in the tie.
In the contest, the Hawks move to 9-6-3 on the season including 6-1-1 in CCC play. Meanwhile, Salve Regina moves to 9-5-3, 4-2-2 against CCC foes.
In goal for RWU was Jack Avellar (Orleans, Mass.) who was outstanding, making eight saves, a number that is tied for the second most on the season for him, while allowing one goal on a penalty kick. In the process, he moved to 4-1-3 in net on the year. Nathan Reid (Magnolia, Del.) got the nod for Salve Regina, and he made six saves against one goal allowed to move to 8-3-2 in net.
With one game remaining in the regular season, for every team in the conference, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape. The Seahawks currently stand alone as the third seed with 14 points and, with a win against the University of New England, that is where they would stand entering the CCC postseason.
Things get more interesting for Roger Williams as they are now tied atop the conference standings with Endicott College with each squad having 19 points. Neither team can drop lower than the second spot, however, the Gulls hold the tiebreaker over RWU and as a result, they would possess the number-one seed if the two teams end the season tied on top of the conference standings. This is important because in the CCC's postseason format, only the top seed receives a bye, and they would get to await an opponent in the semifinals round. RWU plays Suffolk on Tuesday while the Gulls dual Nichols College on Wednesday afternoon.
Hawk Highlights
- Justin Horvath: 1 goal, 3 shots, 1 shot on goal
- Tyler Andrade: 1 assist, 4 shots
- Javi Beltran: 1 assist, 3 shots, 1 shot on goal
- Jack Avellar: 8 saves, 1 goal allowed, 90:00 minutes in goal
For The Seahawks
How It Happened
Salve Regina was applying a lot of pressure in the early going taking five shots, including three on goal, within the first 25 minutes of action. They had a couple of really strong scoring chances in that time. First, in the 13th minute, Jordan Borges (Milford, Mass.) found a seam and split a pair of defenders to get a one-on-one against Jack Avellar (Orleans, Mass.). He took a shot from the penalty kick line, but Avellar dove to his right to make the save. A couple minutes later, in the 15th minute, Jacob Guerra (Colchester, Conn.) got a good look from the top left of the 18-yard box as he tried to tuck it into the upper-right 90, however, once again, Avellar was up to the task deflecting it high and wide to keep the game scoreless.
The Hawks grabbed the advantage in the 29th minute. During the proceeding of a corner kick, SRU attempted to clear the ball, but Javi Beltran (Madrid, Spain) gathered it on the right side of the pitch about 30 yards away. He then chipped it into the left side of the box where Tyler Andrade (South Glastonbury, Conn.) headed it back to the right side to a waiting Justin Horvath (Stratford, Conn.) off the right post. He took a shot from point blank range and went into the upper middle portion of the goal for the opening tally. It was Horvath's fifth goal of the season, all of them coming in the past six games.
The remainder of the half was uneventful and, when the period concluded, the Seahawks held the edge in shots, 7-6, and shots on goal, 4-3, while each team had four corner kicks.
The second half got more physical, and the Hawks continued to stifle the Salve Regina offense until the 73rd minute. Austin Hilger (Portsmouth, R.I.) got called for a controversial foul inside the 18-yard box granting the guests a penalty kick. They turned to Borges, and with Avellar diving left, he shot into the bottom middle for the equalizer. It was his fourth goal on the season.
At the end of regulation, SRU held the slight edge in shots, 12-11, and took more shots on frame, 6-4 while each side received five corner kicks.
The action ramped up into overtime and there was a moment when it looked like the Hawks would claim the win in the 98th minute. Ryan Miller (Hillsdale, N.J.) got the step on a defender cutting across the top of the 18-yard box and received a pass from Hilger. The Salve Regina goalie, Nathan Reid (Magnolia, Del.) came out to make the stop, but Miller slipped it past him and into the bottom left corner of the net. Unfortunately for RWU, Miller was called offsides on the play and the goal was wiped off the board.
The Hawks created a number of scoring chances in the extra periods as they fired seven shots against three for SRU and received the only two corner kicks in extra time. Each side also had three shots on net but neither team could break through, and the game ended in a draw.
In total, RWU took more shots, 18-15 and got more corner kicks, 7-5 in the contest while the Seahawks took more shots on goal, 9-7.
What's Next
Roger Williams (9-6-3, 6-1-1 CCC) hosts Suffolk (8-7-1, 4-4-0 CCC) in their regular season finale on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Salve Regina (9-5-3, 4-2-2) will conclude their regular season with a trip to play the University of New England (1-14-1, 0-8-0) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
