BRISTOL, R.I. - A second half comeback fell short as third-seeded Western New England College dropped a 10-7 decision at second-seeded Roger Williams Thursday afternoon (May 1) in a semifinal round game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament.

Junior Jackie Criss (Westwood, MA) scored three goals and had an assist for the Hawks who advance to the championship game Saturday at top-seeded Endicott who edged fourth-seeded Gordon 10-9 in the other semifinal contest.

Roger Williams (13-3) led 7-4 at halftime and maintained a three-goal lead at 8-5 with 24:01 left in the game before WNEC staged its comeback.

Freshman Jeanmarie Barbato (Huntington Station, NY) scored on a free position shot at the 21:59 mark and junior Lindsey Fenton (Pelham, MA) got the Golden Bears to within one at 8-7 with an assist from junior Rosalie Rodriguez (Norwalk, CT) just 1:57 later.

Freshman Kate Malenczak (Sayville, NY) put the hosts ahead by two with 18:04 remaining before freshman Claire Halliday (Trenton, NJ) tallied the final goal of the game with just 14 seconds left. Malenczak had two goals in the game with Halliday contributing four assists.

Fenton finished with two goals, an assist, and four ground balls while senior Kayte Devine (New Fairfield, CT) also tallied a pair of goals. Rodriguez also netted a goal that brought the Golden Bears to within 7-5 at the 25:45 juncture of the second half.

Freshman Nicole Poli (Medfield, MA) had five draw controls, five ground balls, and four caused turnovers.

Freshman goalie Marissa Bonitatibus (Yorktown Heights, NY) compiled eight saves for the Golden Bears while sophomore Amanda Magee (Columbus, NJ)stopped 13 shots for the Hawks.

Western New England Collegealso fell by three goals at Roger Williams (9-6) in their regular season meeting on March 29.

The Golden Bears now have a 14-5 record with the hope of receiving an invitation to the ECAC Division III New England Championship.