Endicott Announces 2013 Women's Soccer Schedule

BEVERLY, Mass.-  2012 proved to be a historical year as the women's soccer team captured the ECAC championship for the first time in program history.  Endicott was able to take down St. Joseph's (Conn.) 2-0 and improve their final record to 14-5-4 as they sent off seven seniors as champions.  An ECAC banner, while still important, isn't the banner the team sets out to raise each year.  The current roster, as well as previous ones, has set a goal of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champs and NCAA tournament participants.  The tough 2013 schedule looks to have the Gulls primed for not only a CCC title run, but also, a NCAA run.

The Gulls kick off their season with a trip to Rochester, N.Y. as they will participate in the Flower City Tournament, hosted at the University of Rochester.  Once in Rochester, the team will play Union College on Friday, August 30^th at noon.  The Gulls are 1-1 all-time against the Dutchwomen with the most recent matchup being last year on Union's home field.  The Dutchwomen were able to hand the Gulls their first loss in 2012 by defeating them 1-0.  Union finished as Liberty League runner-ups in 2012 at 15-4 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament appearance where they lost to Brandeis 2-1 in OT.  The Gulls then take on the host Yellow Jackets of the University of Rochester on Saturday at noon.  This will be the first time the two programs have met.  Rochester finished 2012 with a very misleading 3-13-1 record overall that is not indicative at all of the brand of soccer they play.  All but two of the Yellow Jackets' matches were decided by one goal, with the opposition putting up two goals or less in 16 of 17 contests.

Following the trip to New York, Endicott returns home to host North Shore foe Salem State on Wednesday, September 4.  The Gulls will battle the Vikings under the lights as game time is slated for a 6 pm start.  Endicott is 5-6-4 all-time against Salem with Endicott having a 3-0-1 record in the last four matchups.  The Gulls have outscored the Vikings 7-1 over the last four meetings with the lone Salem goal coming in a 1-1 tie in Salem, Mass. in 2010. 

Endicott will then take to the road for their next two matches as the Gulls travel to Keene, N.H. to take on the Owls of Keene State on Saturday the 7^th before heading to Lasell College to battle the Lasers on the 10^th.  Heading into last season the Gulls had been 0-6 against the Owls all-time before erupting for a 3-1 victory in the ECAC semifinals in Hartford, Conn.  Keene State finished 2012 with a 13-10-1 record and two semifinal appearances; the Little East and ECAC tournaments.  Lasell finished their campaign with a 15-5-1 record and their third straight GNAC title.  Lasell then advanced to the NCAA tournament where they picked up the first NCAA win in program history by knocking off Amherst 3-1 before bowing out to Brandeis 3-0. 

The Gulls then return to the Nest as they welcome the Smith Pioneers to Beverly.  Smith is coming off of a 2012 season that saw them finish with a 7-9 overall record and a 3-6 NEWMAC record.  This is the first time the two programs will meet although they had two common opponents in 2012.  Both squads faced off against Wellesley and Babson last season with Endicott posting a 1-1 record against Smith's 0-2 record in the same matches.  The Gulls posted a 7-1 win over Wellesley before falling 1-0 to Babson while Smith lost 1-0 to Wellesley in OT and fell 4-1 to Babson.

Following Smith, Endicott will travel to Wellesley, Mass. to take on the Blue of Wellesley College.  As previously mentioned, Endicott defeated the Blue 7-1 at home in their 2012 matchup which improved Endicott's record against Wellesley to 3-2-1.  Endicott has won the previous two meetings by a combined score of 10-2 with Wellesley's last win coming in 2010 in a 2-1 double overtime thriller. 

Saturday, September 21, could be the biggest regular season match for the Gulls.   The team travels to Bristol, R.I. to take on CCC foe Roger Williams in their first conference match of 2013 and a rematch of 2012's 0-0 PK loss in the CCC semifinals on the Hawks home field.  Coming into this season, Endicott is 15-8-2 all-time against the Hawks with the Gulls looking to get their first win since 2009.  During the regular season, Endicott fell to Roger Williams 2-1 at home which proved to be the only regular season CCC loss for the team.

The Gulls then return home for a brief two game home stand as they host Babson and Wentworth on Tuesday the 24^th and Saturday the 28^th of September.  Babson comes to Beverly with a 3-2 record all-time against the Gulls and having won the last two matchups by one goal.  The Beavers posted a 9-9-2 in 2012 and fell in the MEWMAC semifinals to Springfield, 1-0.  The Leopards of Wentworth then come to the Nest for their 2013 conference matchup.  Endicott, who survived a CCC quarterfinal scare by defeating Wentworth on penalty kicks last season, is 16-2-1 against the Leopards dating back to 1998 and is 3-0 in their last three meetings.

Endicott wraps up the busy month of September with a trip north to Plymouth, N.H. to take on the Panthers of Plymouth State.  Plymouth State, which finished with a record of 2-15 last season, took down Endicott 2-1 in the first ever meeting between the two programs.  Besides their head-to-head matchup, the Panthers and the Gulls had two common opponents in Salem State and Gordon.  Plymouth lost to Salem 1-0 and Gordon 7-0 as Endicott defeated both.

October continues the busy schedule for the Gulls as they play seven of their eight matches against conference opponents.  This stretch is led off by a CCC matchup against Western New England on October 5^th which coincides with Endicott's Homecoming Weekend.  Endicott defeated the Golden Bears 1-0 last year in Springfield, Mass. to extend their winning streak to eight straight over WNE.  The following Tuesday Endicott hosts their lone non-conference match in October as the Jumbos of Tufts University come to town.  Tufts ended their 2012 campaign with a 4-6-4 overall record while posting a 2-6-2 record in the NESCAC.  This will be a rubber match of sorts as the teams are as even as they come in the three years they have been playing each other with the series split at 1-1-1.  The teams battled to a double overtime scoreless draw last year while Endicott won 2-0 in 2011 and Tufts won 1-0 in 2010.

Endicott continues their drive for the CCC title as they travel to Newport, R.I. on Saturday, October 12^th for their conference bout with the Seahawks of Salve Regina.  Endicott, who has dominated this series, won 3-1 last season to improve their all-time record against Salve to 17-1-1.  The start time is still to be determined.  A quick turnaround sees the Gulls host the Lions of Eastern Nazarene on the following Tuesday.  This is another series that Endicott has dominated historically with a lone blemish being a 0-0 double overtime draw last season in Quincy, Mass.  Endicott is 13-0-1 against Eastern Nazarene and has posted an astounding 55 goals to only one lone goal against.

The team then has a few days to rest up and get some practice in before they travel to Milton, Mass. on October 19^th to take on the Colonels of Curry.  Endicott was able to escape with a 1-0 overtime win last season that extended their current win streak to six over the Colonels and improved the series record to 14-2.  The Gulls then host Nichols in their second to last regular season home match of the year.  The Bison enter the 2013 season having dropped the last 13 consecutive matchups to the Gulls by a combined score of 35-5.  Endicott has been able to post six straight shutouts against Nichols and has posted nine shutouts over the 13 match win streak.

The last Saturday regular season match of the year sees Endicott taking the trip to Biddeford, Maine to tackle the Nor'Easters of the University of New England.  The UNE and Endicott matchup has exemplified how important home field advantage is as both teams have protected their home field in the last four meetings between the two schools.  Endicott won 2-0 last season and 3-1 in 2010 while UNE won 1-0 in 2011 and 2-1 in OT in 2009.  All-time the series sees Endicott have a 12-8-1 overall and having won 11 of the previous 13 meetings.

With the regular season coming to a close on the 29^th of October, the Gulls see their most storied rival come to the Nest.  Endicott's cross-town nemesis Gordon makes the short commute as the Fighting Scots and Gulls square off in what will be the 27^th meeting all-time between the two schools.  Endicott has won the last seven meetings, all shutouts.  Endicott has outscored Gordon 15-0 over that same stretch.  The Gulls are 14-0-1 in the last 15 matchups with Gordon in what always proves to be a spirited match.

Head Coach Jodi Kenyon, who is entering her seventh year at the helm, knows that the only way to be prepared for the adversity you will face in the playoffs is to be battle tested throughout the season.  Endicott is looking to regain the conference crown for the first time since 2009 when they had a stretch of winning six of seven conference titles in a row.  Having tasted postseason success in 2012 with raising the ECAC banner, Coach Kenyon knows the experience will prove fruitful in 2013 and will help aid her young team down the stretch.