Men's Soccer Falls to Roger Williams, 3-1

BRISTOL, R.I. -- The Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team tallied three unanswered goals to grab a 3-1 victory over Bridgewater State University on Wednesday evening.

With the win, RWU moves to 6-5-1 on the year while the Bears drop to 5-6.

The Hawks had a pair of close calls in the early stages of the contest. Tyler Kuchenbecker (Wellesley, Mass.) hit a hard shot off of a tough angle on the right side three minutes into the game, but had it sail just wide.

Then in the fifth minute, Kuchenbecker slipped a nice pass up the middle to Andrew Carlson (Ridgefield, Conn.). He was able to get a good shot off, but a great jumping save by BSU netminder Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) denied the Hawks the goal.

Bridgewater State opened the scoring in the 11th minute, with Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.) outrunning the Hawk defense on a ball and placing a shot into the left corner to put the Bears on top 1-0.  For Chenard it was his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Nicholas Keddie (Abington, Mass.) set up the scoring strike with a long pass from midfield.

The Hawks responded in the 32nd minute, with Sean Janson (Avon, Conn.) setting up James Sheldon (Amherst, N.H.) on the right side with a pass as he made his way on the right side of the box. Sheldon then fired a shot across the area and into the left corner to tie the game at one apiece.

The 1-1 tie held until the second half, when Sheldon tallied his second score of the game. Andre Brueckner (W. Simsbury, Conn.) sent a pass to Carlson, who had his shot bounce off of a Bear defender. The ball bounced right in front of Sheldon in front of the net, giving him an easy shot on goal to put the Hawks on top.

RWU goaltender Tom Mangels (Garden City, N.Y.) made a crucial stop for the Hawks in the 63rd minute to preserve the lead. After a corner kick by the Bears' Colby LeSage (Maynard, Mass.), Keddie found the ball at the top of the box and launched a shot headed for the top left corner, but a jumping one-handed stop by Mangels denied Keddie's scoring attempt and helped keep the RWU lead.

Jesse DiPietro (Woodbridge, Conn.) closed out the scoring in the 84th minute with a deep shot from 20 yards out of the box that found its way into the back of the net.

Mangels finished with five saves for the Hawks in the win, while Jepson tallied one stop for the Bears.

On Saturday, Roger Williams welcomes Salve Regina University to campus, while Bridgewater State will host MASCAC foe Fitchburg State University.