Thornberg’s Overtime Winner Sends Gulls Past Corsairs

BEVERLY, Mass. – Hannah Thornberg (Oakland, Maine) scored five minutes into the first sudden death overtime to help Endicott come from a two goal deficit and defeat visiting UMass Dartmouth 3-2 in field hockey action Wednesday night at Endicott Stadium.

Melissa Enright (York Beach, Maine) connected on a penalty stroke in the 56^th minute for her fifth goal of the season, giving her the team lead and tying the game at two goals apiece. Less than half an hour later, Thornberg's finish of an assist by sophomore Meg Leary (Hampton Falls, N.H.) tied the senior forward with Enright's goal production on the year and helped Endicott improve their record to 3-1.

The Gulls fell behind 2-0 at halftime thanks to two goals from Corsair senior Taryn Cardiel (Moorpark, Calif.), but turned the tables in the second half, dominating shots and penalty corner chances.

Endicott was outshot 11-2 in the first half and had no penalty corners to the Corsair's 6. After the break, the Gulls outshout their opponents 8-0 and had a 5-1 advantage in corners.

"I'm proud of the team for coming back, maintaining their composure and playing a poised second half," said Head Coach Jodi Cipolla. "They did a much better job with possession and with limiting them to zero shots in the second half."

Sophomore Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) pulled Endicott back within a goal less than a minute after halftime when her shot from just inside the circle trickled through the legs of UMass Dartmouth goalie Lauren O'Brien (Rochester, Mass.). Sawchuck, who netted her second goal of the year, was part of a tandem of forwards that played well offensively for the Gulls, and who drew the praise of her head coach.

 "We cycled our forwards a lot late in the game and all five of our forwards really stepped up. There was no change in momentum from one forward to another," said Cipolla, who also touted the performances of Leary and Jessica Linden (Stratford, Conn.) on the back line, especially during overtime.

Cardiel scored both her goals off of penalty corners, just four minutes apart in the first half. The first goal came off a pass from senior Jenna Miedzionowski (Beverly, Mass.), while the second goal was assisted by junior Victoria Dolce (Jamestown, R.I.).

Endicott senior goalie Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.) made seven stops in the victory, while O'Brien made four saves on the evening.

Endicott opens up Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play on Saturday when they travel to local rivals Gordon College for a 1:00 PM game.

UMass Dartmouth, in the midst of a six game road trip to start the season, sees their record even up at 2-2. The Corsairs will travel to Framingham State next for an 11:00 AM conference match on Saturday.