Endicott men's soccer clinches playoff berth with 2-0 win over NEC

Boxscore

Beverly, Mass. – Needing either a win or a tie to clinch the final spot in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament, the Endicott men’s soccer team defeated New England College 2-0 behind two goals from freshman forward \#Alex Elia\# (Somers, Conn.). 

 

Endicott improved to 6-9-2 overall and 6-6-1 in the conference while NEC drops to 7-10-1 (4-8-1 TCCC) in their final match of the 2010 regular season.

 

The Gulls set the tone early in the match by scoring the game’s first goal in the 17^th minute. Junior defender \#Christopher Serpa\# (Bristol, R.I.) sent a pass right to left into the box to Elia who was left wide open for a shot. Elia’s shot hit the inside of the left post past a diving \#Robert Millard\# (Barrington, R.I.) and crossed the line to put the Blue and Green up 1-0.

 

Both teams played through the first half without another goal and Endicott took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

 

In the second half, it took the Blue and Green until 87:58 but they scored an insurance goal to assure them the victory and a spot in the conference tournament. A looping pass sent into the box rattled around until sophomore midfielder \#Brian Connery\# (Boxford, Mass.) hit a header pass to Elia who struck the ball to the lower right corner of the net, putting the Gulls up 2-0.

 

The Pilgrim keeper, Millard, made three saves in the second half of the match while Endicott goalie sophomore \#Daniel Higgins\# (Kingstown, R.I.) made two stops in the shutout. 

 

The Gulls outshot the Pilgrims 18-6 and held a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks. 

 

Endicott will now await the seeding of the TCCC Tournament with the first round being played on Saturday, October 30.