Endicott holds off WNEC in double-OT thriller
April 15, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, Mass.) drove from the back X and bounced home a diving shot 1:41 into double overtime, lifting the 15th-ranked Endicott men's lacrosse team past No. 16 Western New England College, 8-7, in a battle of TCCC unbeaten schools on Tuesday night in Beverly, Massachusetts. The victory keeps the Gulls' conference winning-streak alive, as Endicott has now won 45-straight TCCC games.
The opening 10 minutes of action saw both squads hold long and deliberate possessions. Western New England, known for its quick strike transition game, dominated control of much of the opening quarter. Endicott junior midfielder Dan Cain (Billerica, Mass.) finally broke the scoreless tie as he buried a quick-stick on the crease off a feed from John Curtis (Chelmsford, Mass.) to make the score 1-0 with 4:29 left in the first.
Cain struck again exactly seven minutes into the second quarter as he busted-out a spin move on goal line extended, finding the back of the net for a 2-0 lead for the hosts. Western New England responded with consecutive goals from Jon Hayes (Waltham, Mass.) and Mike Kelly (Cheshire, Conn.). Hayes bombed from 17 yards out to the lower left-hand corner to beat Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.), while Kelly slipped a shot 5-hole on the crease to knot the game at 2-all entering the intermission.
Endicott came out of the break on a mission as the Blue and Green got a pair of unassisted tallies from Andrew Harding (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Eddie O'Reilly. Harding was able to slip a shot through the legs of WNEC netminder Chris Body (Newtown, Conn.), while O'Reilly bounced home a bid after driving the net on an isolation play from the top of the box. The visitors were quick to respond with consecutive goals of their own, as Scott Kukis (Sudbury, Mass.) connected on a rip from 15 yards out and Jon Hayes scored a man-up goal to even the game at 4-all.
Endicott's Brandon Dube (Danvers, Mass.) closed out the third quarter with a low shot from 10 yards out off a pass from Dan Cain, giving Endicott a 5-4 lead entering the fourth.
Brad Lipkvich (Madison, Conn.) gave the Gulls a two goal cushion just 1:09 into frame number four as he skipped home a bounce shot on the near side. Western New England `s Jon Hayes responded with his third goal of the night less than two minutes later as he planted a seed off-stick high, pulling the visitors back within one.
WNEC tied the game at 6-6 with 10:41 left in the fourth as Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, Mass.) took a pass from Joe O'Keefe (Branford, Conn.) and dodged off the goal line to net a lay-up on the crease, evening the contest. The Gulls returned the lead to their sideline with 4:27 showing on the clock as O'Reilly netted his second of the game on a give-and-go play with Brandon Dube.
Trailing by one, Jon Hayes scored his fourth of the evening with just 1:06 left in regulation on a blistering shot from 20 yards out. Western New England would have a chance for the win after scooping up the ensuing face-off, however Hagarty stuffed Joe O'Keefe with just 10 seconds left to force overtime.
In the bonus session it would be the Golden Bears who had a majority of the scoring opportunities. Following a WNEC timeout, Hayes nailed a net-rattling post shot from the far wing. Western New England had two opportunities with the extra man in the first overtime, unable to convert with its man-up unit. The Gulls also had a chance with the additional attacker off a Jon Hayes slashing penalty, however Body was equal to the task on his end of the field.
The start of the second overtime saw WNEC's Travis Brown (Chapel Hill, N.C.) win the face-off to give the Golden Bears possession. In their best scoring chance of either of the overtime sessions, Western New England's Mike Kelly was robbed with the save of the night by Hagarty. Kelly snuck his way to the goal mouth for what looked to be the game-winner, however Hagarty stoned the senior with a stick save.
Following a successful clear and timeout by the Gulls, O'Reilly set himself up for the night-ending heroics. Sweeping his way from left to right behind the goal, O'Reilly grabbed just enough of an angle off the goal line to sneak a diving bounce shot past Body. The ball rolled slowly across the goal line with the referee running from the near sideline with a delayed goal signal, keeping the Gulls TCCC winning-streak intact.
Western New England was led by Jon Hayes' four goals and one assist for a game-high five points. The senior midfielder unleashed 22 total shots in the loss, 11 of which hit the net. Joe O'Keefe dished out three assists for the Golden Bears, while Mike Kelly, Brody Savoie, and Scott Kukis each had a goal in the losing effort. Chris Body finished the night with 14 saves.
Endicott was paced by Eddie O'Reilly's three goals. Brandon Dube tallied a goal and two assists while Dan Cain had two and one. Andrew Harding and Brad Lipkvich each had a goal in the victory. Eric Hagarty made 22 saves for the second game in a row (22 against Tufts on April 8th).
The win improves Endicott to 10-2 overall and 5-0 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference. Western New England slips to 7-4 and 6-1 in TCCC play. The Gulls return to action on Saturday as they host Roger Williams at 12:00 p.m. WNEC travels to Bristol, R.I. on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tilt with the Seahawks of Salve Regina.