Gulls advance to finals for sixth straight year
April 30, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - After scoring two goals in each of the first three quarters the 16th-ranked Endicott men's lacrosse team erupted for eight tallies in the fourth, downing Roger Williams University, 14-10, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Semifinals on Thursday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The win propels the Gulls into their sixth straight TCCC Championship game, where they will meet No. 12 Western New England College after the Golden Bears defeated Salve Regina, 18-6.
After falling behind 1-0 just 3:10 into the first quarter Roger Williams made an early statement by rattling off a 3-0 run to take a 3-1 lead midway through the opening frame. Beaver Barone (Weymouth, Mass.) got the spurt started with an unassisted goal where he dodged off the right side and placed a shot over Endicott goalkeeper Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.). The Hawks' Dave Hurley (Hanover, Mass.) then scored back-to-back goals off assists from Mike Fox (New Canaan, Conn.) and Packy Markham (Cutchogue, N.Y.) to give RWU the early lead.
Endicott's Brad Lipkvich (Madison, Conn.) closed out the opening 15 minutes with a man-up goal from 15-yards out off an assist from Jack Curtis (Chelmsford, Mass.), narrowing the Roger Williams' lead to 3-2 after one.
The Lipkvich goal was the first of three-in-a-row for the Gulls, as Nick Cosco (Londonderry, N.H.) got in on the scoring action after Lipkvich's second consecutive strike. Endicott would carry a 4-3 lead into the intermission.
The two sides traded goals through the third quarter and into the start of the fourth before Endicott made a final push to the finish line with four straight scores off the sticks of Lipkvich, Curtis, Dan Cain (Billerica, Mass.) and Cosco. The four goal outburst came in a window of just 2:34, cementing the win for the Gulls. Endicott would go on to score eight goals in the final quarter, holding off Roger Williams for the 14-10 victory.
Brad Lipkvich led the way for the Blue and Green with four goals and an assist, while Brandon Dube (Danvers, Mass.) had two goals and four helpers in the win. Nick Cosco notched three goals and one assist and fellow attackman Jack Curtis finished with one and one. The Gulls got standout play from senior defenseman Adrien Peacock (Billerica, Mass.) as the long-pole had six groundballs and four takeaways. Goalie Eric Hagarty finished with 12 saves, including four in the fourth quarter.
Roger Williams' Dave Hurley had three goals and two assists. Packy Markham also scored three times and added one assist in the loss. Tyler Roebuck (Montgomery, N.Y.) made 16 saves to keep the Hawks close throughout.
Statistically speaking, it was a very even contest for much of the 60 minutes. Endicott did, however, control the groundball game at a 52-32 clip, and was able to fire off 11 more shots than the visitors.
With the win, Endicott will head to Western New England College for The Commonwealth Coast Conference Finals on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mass. The Golden Bears, who bested the Gulls in the regular season 13-4, also knocked-off the top-ranked Gulls in last year's TCCC Final, 12-10.