Nov. 3, 2002

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island women's soccer team captured its first Atlantic 10 regular season championship ever with a 6-3 victory against George Washington at the URI Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon. The Rams finished the conference slate with a 10-1 mark and a 14-4-1 record overall. The game marked the final regular-season home game for seniors Heather Kasparek, Gina Rosen, Jamie Epperlein, Kelly Irvin and Rebecca Sorensen. Since 1999, the group of seniors has posted a 51-22-3 mark, including an outstanding 28-6-3 record at the URI Soccer Complex.

Rhode Island senior Heather Kasparek opened the scoring for the contest when she tallied an unassisted goal after taking the ball in the middle of the field, beating a pair of GWU defenders and blasted a shot into the top right corner of the net to give the Rams a 1-0 lead at the 20:41 mark. URI extended its lead to 2-0 at the 23:04 mark when freshman Melanie Kasparek put in a cross at the top of the box from Rosen. George Washington responded quickly, however, as junior Kim Warner finished off a breakaway after a through ball from sophomore Kelly Lawten to make the score 2-1 at the 25:53 mark.

URI came out quickly in the second half as freshman Megan Kasparek put in a cross from her twin sister, Melanie, to give the Rams a 3-1 lead at the 45:44 mark. Freshman Trisha Hewitt scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal at the 48:05 mark when she collected a rebounded shot from Melanie Kasparek and slid it into the lower right corner to give Rhode Island the 4-1 lead. Rosen added to the Rhode Island advantage as she put in a direct kick from sophomore Claire Landon at the 60:35 mark to make the score 5-1. The Rams tallied their final goal of the game when junior Sarah Johnston one-timed a pass from Melanie Kasparek for the 6-1 lead at the 71:04 mark. George Washington mounted a come-back late when Warner tallied her second goal of the game when she headed in a pass from senior Kimberly Sanders. The Colonials scored again quickly when sophomore Amanda Bednarz put in a pass from Sanders to make the score 6-3 at the 74:48 mark. That would be as close as the Colonials would get, however, as Rhode Island held on for the victory.

Senior Jamie Epperlein made one save in goal for Rhode Island while Kelly Paolucci had 10 saves in 68 minutes of action for George Washington.

Rhode Island, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship in Dayton, Ohio, will face off against George Washington for the second time in less than a week when they take on the No. 4 seed Colonials on Friday evening.

Game Summary
GWU (10-8, 7-4)		1  2  --  3
URI (14-4-1, 10-1)	2  4  --  6

URI	20:41	Heather Kasparek (Unassisted)
URI	23:04	Melanie Kasparek (Gina Rosen)
GWU	25:53	Kim Warner (Kelly Lawten)
URI	45:44	Megan Kasparek (Melanie Kasparek)
URI	48:05	Trisha Hewitt (Melanie Kasparek)
URI	60:35	Gina Rosen (Claire Landon)
URI	71:04	Sarah Johnston (Melanie Kasparek)
GWU	72:40	Warner (Kimberly Sanders)
GWU	73:48	Amanda Bednarz (Sanders)

Shots:	GWU - 5; URI - 24
Saves:	GUW - Kelly Paolucci (10 saves, 67:16), Christine O'Malley (2 saves, 22:44)
	URI - Jamie Epperlein (1 save, 88:46), Kirsten Marra (0 saves, 1:14)