Gulls survive first quarter scare, down Pilgrims
April 22, 2008
HENNIKER, N.H. - 14th-ranked Endicott College rallied back from an early 3-0 hole, as the Gulls ran their winning streak to seven-straight with a 13-6 win over New England College on Tuesday afternoon in Henniker, N.H. The win improves the Gulls to 12-2 overall (7-0 TCCC) while the Pilgrims fall to 4-9 (3-5 TCCC).
New England College came out of the gate on fire as the Pilgrims scored the first three goals of the contest in the opening eight minutes of play. Endicott responded as the Gulls netted the final two goals in the opening quarter to cut the Pilgrim lead to just 3-2 heading into the second.
The Blue and Green continued their scoring in the second quarter as the Gulls notched three goals to grab a 5-3 lead with 9:45 left in the half. NEC's Dillon Lantz (Woodstock, Vt.) scored his second goal of the game at the 6:05 mark in the second to send the Pilgrims into halftime down just 5-4.
Endicott would explode by outscoring NEC 5-1 in the third quarter, including Eddie O'Reilly's (Beverly, Mass.) third of the game, putting the Gulls up 10-5 heading into the final quarter. The Pilgrims would net a goal early in the fourth but Endicott tacked on three fourth quarter goals of their own, cruising to the 13-6 victory.
Endicott was paced by TCCC Offensive Player of the Week Eddie O'Reilly's three goals. Nick Cosco (Londonderry, N.H.) finished with two goals and two assists, while Andrew Harding (Niskayuna, N.Y.) scored a goal and dished out two assists in the win.
Leading the way for NEC was Dillon Lantz who finished with four goals and an assist. NEC's Colin Gordon (Manchester, Mass.) finished with a goal and an assist for the Pilgrims.
Picking up the win in goal for Endicott was Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.), who finished with eight saves. NEC's was Nick Acquaviva (Syracuse, N.Y.) stopped 21 shots for the hosts.