To say this has been a year of adversity for the Gordon Women's Soccer program would be a mild understatement.
 
A new coach, a new system and player adjustments would be a difficult transition for even the best programs. Add in the fact that the Fighting Scots have dealt with an injury list the length of a professional football team and you potentially have a recipe for disaster.
 
"We have been calling this the year of adversity all season," says first-year head coach Chuck Breton. "Right off the bat we lost our starting central midfielder in the preseason and add that to a new coach, a new culture and a new style of play."
 
The adjustment period was clear from the very beginning as Gordon dropped a pair of matches in overtime to Maine Maritime and Emerson to start the year while recording only one win in its first six games. For a team that had notched double-digit wins in 10 consecutive seasons, the early heart-breaking losses could have broken their spirit.
 
"We were definitely slow to start the year and we struggled to get the results we expected going into the season. And then the injuries started to pile up," Breton adds.
 
Injuries happen to every team, but the frequency with which they happened to the Scots seemed like a burden too much to bear. Standout freshman Asha Steele (Bedford, N.H.) suffered a concussion in the waning moments of the Homecoming game with Curry. Defensive leader and former All-CCC performer Sammi Morren (Caledonia, Mich.) suffered a season-ending head injury too. Add in multi-game injuries to starters Lauren Hayes (Wantage, N.J.), Kaitlyn Hawn (Woodbury, Minn.), Katie Mader (Scarborough, Maine), and Naomi Shearer (Hampden, Maine) to boot.
 
"Once we got over 50 games lost due to injury, I stopped counting," quipped Breton.
 
Injuries never became an excuse, though. Through the ups and downs of the season, Gordon never got too high or too low.
 
"With everything happening, we talked about the idea of pressing on. We used Philippians 3:13, which reads, 'I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."
 
Press on the Scots did and a wild first two rounds of the Commonwealth Coast Conference has led them to Bristol, Rhode Island on Saturday for their third championship appearance in the last five years. For a team that was out of the playoff picture just three weeks ago, they epitomize what it means to play with heart in moments of great adversity.
 
Not many would have predicted the Scots to be on the field with the vaunted Hawks of Roger Williams, a team that has lost just three times in its last 47 games. Gordon surprised UNE during the regular season, but beating them a second time in the playoffs was a marvelous feat. Wentworth had soundly beaten CCC teams all season long, but it was the Scots who put the ball in the net in penalty kicks after surviving an onslaught of shots.
 
The obvious goal is for Gordon to rack up its third straight upset in the CCC playoffs and win its first championship since 1998.
 
But whatever happens on Saturday afternoon, Gordon should be comforted by the fact that they fought back when things got tough. There was no quit despite the circumstance.
 
Most importantly, they pressed on.
 
Roger Williams Players to Watch
 
Mariah Kaiser – The three-time CCC Offensive Player of the Year had another All-Region worthy season with 16 goals and eight assists. Eight game-winners to lead all players in the CCC.
 
Jessica Valenti – Another talented offensive player who has found herself with post-season nods in each of the last two years. The former Division I athlete scored 11 times this year and added five assists.
 
Kristen Casey, Kristen Knight and Samantha Woznicki – The backbone of Roger Williams whose defense has only allowed six goals against in 21 games this season. 

Game Day Media
Live Stats
Video
CCC Interactive Bracket