DeShaw and Murphy lead Endicott women's lacrosse to seventh straight CCC title

Box Score
 
BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women’s lacrosse team continued their streak of consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships as the Gulls rallied behind six-point efforts from both Morgan DeShaw (Danville, N.H.) and Callie Murphy (Woburn, Mass.) to beat Gordon 20-14 for their seventh straight conference title. 
 
After going undefeated in league games during the regular season, the top-seeded Gulls completed their quest for another CCC Championship by defeating \#5 Roger Williams 16-10 and \#3 Gordon 20-14 to capture their fourth title under current head coach Meghan Fitzgerald.  Under Fitzgerald and the current group of seniors, Endicott has gone 57-22 overall with only one loss in conference match ups (37-1). 
 
Endicott will now wait to find out their first round opponent in the 2012 NCAA DIII Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.  The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday night.  A link to the online broadcast will be provided on ECGulls.com when information becomes available.
 
In Saturday’s CCC Championship, Endicott (12-5) quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead just 9:35 into the game.  DeShaw opened the game with her 53^rd goal of the season off one of her four free position goals on the day before Gordon’s Jordan Alexander (Portland, Maine) scored the first of her team-high five goals to tie the game at 1-1.  Endicott, however, scored three straight goals within a span of 1:26 to take the early advantage.  Kelly Tierney (South Hadley, Mass.), Murphy and DeShaw all scored during this stretch. 
 
The Scots fought back with four unassisted goals in-a-row, including two by Alexander, to take their first lead of the game at 5-4.  Sophomore Stephanie Fitzgerald (Groveland, Mass.) and senior Jocie Knaus (Kensington, Conn.) scored their first goals of the game before Alexander went back-to-back at 16:54 and 13:58 in the first half. 
 
Endicott quickly tied the game on Holly Davis’ (Guilford, Conn.) first of two goals in the game and then lead at 6-5 on Murphy’s second goal, an unassisted tally.  Murphy followed up with another goal at the 8:27 mark, off an assist from sophomore Rachel Campos (Shrewsbury, Mass.), to put the Blue and Green on top by two. 
 
Alexander started a three-goal streak by the Scots at 7:55 that saw the visitors take their second and final lead of the game.  Kari Christensen’s (Standish, Maine) goal at 4:04 tied it up at 7-7 before Anna Blomberg (Simsbury, Conn.) pushed Gordon ahead 8-7 just 12 seconds later. 
 
Facing a one-goal deficit, Endicott rattled off four straight goals to take the outright lead at 11-8 going into halftime.  The Gulls would not trail for the rest of the game.  Three of the four goals came off free position attempts including Campos’ 11^th goal of the season.  Murphy scored an unassisted goal at 1:38 before DeShaw closed out the half with two free position goals just 12 seconds apart. 
 
Gordon pulled to within one at 11-10 and 12-11 early in the second half, but Endicott pressed on the gas by scoring eight of the next nine goals including Lauren Todd’s (Newfields, N.H.) first goal and back-to-back marks by junior Caitlin Pratt (Bow, N.H.) to put Endicott on top 20-12 with 10:47 remaining.  Only a free position goal by Gordon’s Knaus interrupted Endicott offensive outburst. 
 
Over the final 10 minutes, Endicott slowed down the pace of the game and it wasn’t until a Gulls turnover at the nine minute mark was converted into a Fitzgerald goal down the other end at 8:19.  Fitzgerald followed up with her third and final goal only 17 seconds later after Scots midfielder Krysti Leach (Naples, Maine) earned the draw control and found an open Fitzgerald for the goal to make it 20-14. 
 
Down the stretch, Endicott goalie Leah Neff (South Berwick, Maine) made three of her seven saves to keep Gordon off the scoreboard.  Neff earned the victory, her third conference championship win between the pipes for the Gulls. 
 
As a team, Endicott caused nine turnovers to just four for the Scots.  Defenders Kelsey Barnes (Brookside, N.J.), Stacia Geno (White River Junction, Vt.) and Deven Tentindo (Stratham, N.H.) all had two caused turnovers in the game.  Gordon’s Kelly Linehan (White Plains, N.Y.) also tied that trio with a game-high two caused turnovers.
 
On the draw, Endicott had a 21-15 advantage in draw controls.  Davis led all players with nine with Campos scooping eight of her own.  Blomberg led the Scots with six draw controls. 
 
In goal for Gordon, sophomore Danielle Maguire (Braintree, Mass.) stopped 13 shots on goal, including 10 in the second half, but took the loss.