BRISTOL, R.I. – Junior forward Elliott Richmond (Amherst, Mass.) scored both goals and classmate Brian Pearsall (Sanford, Maine) made six saves as the third-seeded Wentworth men's soccer team advanced to its second The Commonwealth Coast Conference title game in the last three seasons with a 2-0 win at second-seeded Roger Williams.
The visiting Leopards controlled play early, but would not get on the scoreboard until late in the first half when the Hawks were trying to settle a free kick. Richmond was able to intercept the pass and go in alone for his first goal of the season at the 43:04 mark. Despite outshooting Roger Williams, 10-4, Wentworth would only get the one marker.
Play intensified in the second half with both teams having chances to score, but neither team would find the back of the net. In the 84th minute of play, Pearsall booted a goal kick to midfield where junior forward John Golden (Whitman, Mass.) sent a through ball to Richmond, whose goal at 83:40 iced the game. Roger Williams held a 14-8 shot advantage in the second half, which included eight shots on goal. The second half also saw the two teams combine for 20 fouls, a yellow card, and red card that forced the Hawks to play shorthanded for the final 4:50.
Pearsall recorded his third straight shutout and ran his personal shutout streak to 600:03 as the Leopards won their fourth straight game – all by way of a shutout and over a seven-game stretch (6-1-0), Wentworth has now outscored the opposition by a 16-2 margin. Roger Williams junior Peter Plate (Commack, N.Y.) made two saves in the loss, the Hawks' first in their last four games.
With the win Wentworth improves to 12-7 and advances, for the fourth time in the program's history, to the conference championship game. The Leopards will travel to two-time defending TCCC Champion and top-seeded Western New England Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Golden Bears punched their third straight ticket to the title game by tying Gordon, 0-0, but advancing on penalty kicks, 3-2. On Oct. 10, Western New England won the regular-season contest, 5-0. That game was also played in Springfield. This game will also be a re-match of the 2007 title game, which the Golden Bears won by a 3-0 score.
