Gulls blast Castleton, will face Lasell in ECAC Finals
May 10, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - 16th-ranked Endicott College scored 12 goals in the first quarter and struck 19 times in the opening half, as the Gulls blasted visiting Castleton State College, 29-5, in the ECAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Massachusetts. Endicott's 29 goals is a new program-record for the most scored in a game. With the win, the Gulls improve to 17-3 overall and will play in Sunday's ECAC final against Lasell College. Castleton closes out its season at 13-7.
The Blue and Green were quick to take a 2-0 lead as Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, Mass.) and Nick Cosco (Londonderry, N.H.) scored back-to-back goals in the opening minute to give EC an early two goal cushion. The advantage would grow to 8-0 at the midpoint of the first frame as Cosco scored a pretty behind-the-back goal on a slick inside look from John Curtis (Chelmsford, Mass.) for his third of the quarter. Endicott would lead 12-1 after the first 15 minutes of play.
The Blue and Green kept the pressure on in the second as the Gulls outscored the Spartans, 7-2, in the second stanza. The hosts got consecutive goals from Eddie O'Reilly and a man-up tally from Dan Cain (Billerica, Mass.) less than a minute apart. The Gulls' firepower was evident as they continued to pump in goals, coasting into the intermission with a, 19-3, lead.
The second half was strictly a formality as Endicott emptied its bench and outscored Castleton, 10-2, in the final 30 minutes. The Blue and Green played three goalies in the win, as a trio of netminders combined for 10 saves. Castleton split time between the pipes with starter Christopher Wynne (Suffern, N.Y.) and junior Michael Mamunes (Barrington, Vt.). Wynne made four saves in the opening half allowing 19 goals, while Mamunes posted nine saves allowing 10.
Endicott's offense was paced by Nick Cosco's seven goals and four assists, all of which came in the opening half. Brandon Dube (Danvers, Mass.), Eddie O'Reilly, and Dan Cain each scored three times, while nine other Gulls had at least one tally in the win. John Ortolani (Billerica, Mass.) scooped-up a game-high 18 groundballs while leading Endicott with a 22-of-30 performance at the face-off X (Endicott went 26-of-38 on the day).
Castleton State was led by Michael Martinez's (Barrington, Ill.) three goals. Craig MacDerment (Glenville, N.Y.) and Derek Riley (Randolph, Vt.) each had a goal in the losing effort. James VanDerKar (Manchester, Vt.) picked-up 12 groundballs for the visitors.
In the afternoon contest, Lasell College got 21 saves from senior goaltender Mark DeMieri (Seaford, N.Y.) to double-up Plymouth State University, 10-5. The Lasers scored four times in the first quarter and twice in each of the following frames to down the second-seeded Panthers.
Brandon Keith (Marston Mills, Mass.) went off for the No. 3 Lasers, scoring four goals and dishing out two assists for six points. Junior midfielder Ryan Koerner (Floral Park, N.Y.) was also impressive in the upset win, scoring three times on five shots for the visitors. A 5-0 lead proved to be enough for Lasell's DeMieri, as the senior stood on his head in second half with 13 of his 21 saves coming down the stretch.
Plymouth State was led by a pair of multiple goal scorers in Steve Engel (South Windsor, Conn.) and Brian Giroux (Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.), as the duo each tallied two goals on the afternoon. Senior attackman Adam Krinsky (Concord, N.H.), who entered Saturday's ECAC semifinal just one goal shy of 100 for his career, ended the day with four assists. Krinsky will depart Plymouth State with 99 career goals and 121 assists.
The win advances Lasell College into Sunday's ECAC final against top-seeded Endicott. The championship game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Endicott's campus in Beverly, Massachusetts.