Second half outburst lifts Gulls to fourth conference title
May 2, 2009
Box Score
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College women's lacrosse team outscored Roger Williams 9-2 in the second half, turning a one-goal halftime lead into a dominating 12-4 win in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The title is the Gulls' fourth-straight, as the Blue and Green will now await the NCAA Tournament selection show announcement to learn who its first round opponent will be.
A fast-moving first half which featured a total of just five goals ended with the Gulls clinging to a slight 3-2 lead. The Hawks' game-plan was evident from the moment they took their first possession, as the visitors played a deliberate, possession based attack all afternoon. Despite the Hawks holding possession for minutes at a time, Endicott struck first as the Gulls' Carin Czerniawski (Monroe, Conn.) forced an RWU turnover, allowing Rebecca Bushnell (Guilford, Conn.) to take a feed from Valerie Feldman (Albany, N.Y.) and beat Roger Williams' goalkeeper Amanda Magee (Columbus, N.J.) for the early 1-0 lead.
The advantage would be short-lived, however, as the Hawks fired back with consecutive goals by Kasey Beckwith (Franklin, Conn.) and Kate Malenczak (Sayville, N.Y.) to take a 2-1 advantage. Both of the visitor's strikes, which came just 2:56 apart, were assisted by sophomore Claire Halliday (Trenton, N.J.).
Endicott's Sara Gunter (Kennebunk, Maine) knotted the game at 2-all as she weaved her way through a pack of Hawk defenders, eventually burying a bounce-shot with 9:12 left in the opening half. Valerie Feldman then gave the Gulls a one-goal advantage at the break as she pulled-up off the left side and uncorked a laser into the upper-corner, sending Endicott into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
Endicott wasted no time adding to its lead as Bushnell scored just 57 seconds into the second half to put Endicott ahead, 4-2. The scoring continued as Michelle Loizzo (Longmeadow, Mass.), Czerniawski and Alex Pearce (Underhill, Vt.) all netted successive goals, adding to Endicott's seven-unanswered charge.
The Hawks' attempted to make it interesting as Jackie Criss (Westwood, Mass.) and Kate Malenczak scored at the 12:01 and 11:01 marks, respectively, cutting the lead down to 8-4. Czerniawski answered back with her second of the day, followed by a game-ending run of three-straight goals by freshman Morgan DeShaw (Danville, N.H.) to clip the Hawks' wings for good.
The Endicott defense, which allowed just four goals on 12 total shots, got four groundballs and three takeaways from senior Hannah Pelletier (Kennebunkport, Maine), while senior goalkeeper Molly Hamel (North Yarmouth, Maine) made five saves in the winning effort. The Gulls' put forth a well-balanced attack, as four players scored at least two goals in the win.
Endicott will now await word from the NCAA as to who its first round opponent will be in next week's Division III National Tournament. The Gulls have never won a tournament game as they fell to Colorado College in 2006 (13-12), Trinity in 2007 (19-3) and Amherst in 2008 (16-7). Check back to www.ecgulls.com for complete information regarding the Gulls' first round match-up after the bracket is officially released.