Rhody Starters
Leyh, Warjas, Hansen, Bailes, Ari Stanton, Brennan, Lieberman, Alex Stanton, Gylfadottir, Nardella, Nickles (GK)

Duquesne Starters
Yow, Yobbi, Faccenda, Fenech, Hale, Staton, Mayo, Lacy, Reiff, Dagenais, Tabata (GK)

Scoring Summary

OT - URI - 109:08 - Chelsea Gates (Brennan) - GWG - Third of season

How It Happened

First Half
The Rams nearly struck with the opening five minutes when Alex Stanton sent a ball down the sideline creating a 4-on-1 opportunity. After a few passes inside the 18, and a shot finding the back of the net, the play was eventually whistled for offsides. The Rams best chance of the half came when Dariann Sellitti and Ari Stanton both took point blank shots within seconds of each other, but Duquesne keeper Devon Tabata was able to stop both, keeping the game scoreless. Rams keeper Katie Nickles made a diving stop late in the half for one of her two saves in the opening frame.

Second Half
Duquesne outshot the Rams 8-2 in the half and Nickles made three more saves for a total of five in regulation. The Dukes back line was very strong, as they did not allow the Rams to put a shot on goal. As time was expiring, Rhode Island was whistled for a foul and Duquesne tried a quick drive towards goal off the free kick but the ball sailed high as the clock hit zero.

Extra Time
After outshooting the Dukes 7-1 in extra time, it the final shot that proved to be the difference maker for the Rams. Senior Chelsea Gates received a throw in from Nicole Brennan a few feet inside the sideline, turned, and ripped a shot into the far upper corner to beat Tabata and give Rhody the victory. 

Additional Notes

• The win marks head coach Michael Needham's second 11-win season in his four-year tenure at his alma mater.
• Katie Nickles earned her fourth clean sheet of the season and improves to 7-0-2 overall. She lowered her conference-best goals against average and save percentage with the win.
• Nicole Brennan's assist on the game winning goal is her 16th point of the season and 23rd of her career, which is good for 35th on the all-time points list.
• Chelsea Gates scored her third goal of the season in the 110th minute. All three of her goals this year are game winners and this is the second to come in extra time. 

Quotables

Head Coach Michael Needham

• I thought we played okay, Duquesne caused a lot of problems for us, but we were able to do what we needed to do. 
• Katie Nickles came up huge for us, we had some awesome goalkeeping today.
• Chelsea Gates was a difference maker. Big time players make big time plays in big time moments, and that's Chelsea.
• [On not looking into the standings]: All we're doing is trying to recover and get ready for Sunday. Our team has been successful this year by grinding out games, recovering, and getting back to work for the next one.
• St. Bonaventure is the next challenge on our journey and we're looking forward to getting back home and honoring our seniors. 
• It's a group of players that means a lot to me because they've made it through four year with me and I'm so proud of them for that.

Up Next

The Rams host St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 for Senior Day in Kingston, R.I.