CCC CHAMPS! Women's Lacrosse Downs Roger Williams, 17-9

BRISTOL, R.I — The second-seeded Endicott women's lacrosse team tops first-seeded Roger Williams, 17-9, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Saturday afternoon at Bayside field. 

Kiana Napolitano (Revere, Mass.) led the Gulls with six goals while Jaira Paine (Granby, Conn.) added five goals and two assists.

Meanwhile, Leah Black (Cheshire, Conn.), Emerson Clark (Gloucester, Mass.), Matilda Darrah (Dover, N.H.), Grace McAfee (Marmora, N.J.), Bailey Sheehan (Pomfret, Conn.), and Mia Smith (Portsmouth, N.H.) all scored solo tallies.

In goal, Lydia Akins (Edina, Minn.) made eight saves in the victory as her record improved to 11-7. The Endicott defense forced CCC Offensive Player of the Year, Juila Kelly into six turnovers throughout the game.

Tied at three apiece with 9:22 to play in the first quarter, the Gulls scored five unanswered goals (Paine- 7:53 and 5:03, Smith- 7:13, Sheehan- 6:31, and Darrah- 00:36) to take a commanding 8-3 lead to the second quarter. 

A Napolitano tally to open up the second quarter gave Endicott a 9-3 lead but the Hawks would score the next three to cut the lead to just three. Black and Napolitano both found the back of the net with a Roger Williams goal in between to take an 11-7 lead going to halftime.

The Gulls came out of halftime and blitzed Roger Williams with five goals in the third quarter, outscoring the hosts 5-2 and led 16-9 going to the final 15 minutes.

From there, Clark scored an insurance goal 21 seconds in the fourth quarter and the defense held Roger Williams scoreless throughout as Endicott prevailed, 17-9. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE 

• 13th CCC Championship in program history (2006-2014, 2017-19).
• Napolitano's six goals are a career-high.
• Paine set new career highs in goals (five) and points (seven).
• The Gulls outshot the Hawks 35-25 in the victory.  
• Endicott's defense held the Roger Williams offense to its second-lowest goal total of the season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (12-7) will earn the CCC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse tournament. The NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Selection Show will air on Monday, May 6 at 10:30 AM. Roger Williams sees its season come to an end at 10-8. 

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(Photo Credit - Emily Williams)