Tierney's Nine Points Help Gulls Race Past Southern Maine

BEVERLY,Mass. – Endicott scored fifteen of the game's first sixteen goals and senior Kelly Tierney (S. Hadley, Mass.) had a nine-point night as Endicott defeated the University of Southern Maine 16-5 on Thursday in non-conference women's lacrosse action at North Field.

The Gulls improved to 6-4 overall and have now won all seven meetings with the Huskies, who drop to 6-3 to start the 2013 season.

Tierney had four goals and five assists and had a hat-trick n the first seven minutes, in which  Endicott took a 6-0 lead. Caitlin Pratt (Bow, N.H.), who had three goals herself in the game, had the first two goals for the Gulls in the first three minutes, including one which came off the opening draw and took just 17 seconds.

After the visitors pulled one goal back through the work of Jenna Cyr (Limerick, Maine), who was the only Huskie with two goals on the night, Endicott poured in the next nine tallies. That run included two goals apiece from Endicott's Siri Mason (Williamstown, Mass.), Holly Davis (Guilford, Conn.) and Callie Murphy (Woburn, Mass.). The Gulls scored three times in the last minute and a half and went into the break with an 11-1 lead.

Murphy had four assists in the game and won three draw controls, while Davis had two helpers and won two draws. Junior goalie Rachel Socolow (Westford, Mass.) made 13 saves in the victory and junior Rachel Campos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) won five draw controls.

Taylor Rogerson (Washington Depot, Conn.) and Kirsten Thor (Longmeadow, Mass.) each added goals for Endicott, while the Huskies scored the final three goals of the game and got tallies from Rosie Forster (Andover, Mass.), Samantha Purcell (Durham, Maine), and Jacki Kelly (Brunswick, Maine).  Freshman MacKenzie Sullivan (Lewiston, Maine) picked up her first assist of the season on Purcell's goal.

Southern Maine junior Kim Vogel (Sanford, Maine) made nine saves but took the loss and fell to 5-3 on the year.

The teams were fairly close in most of the statistical categories, with Endicott having a 30-25 edge in shots, a 20-17 advantage in ground balls and a 13-10 edge in draw controls. The home team caused twelve turnovers, led by Kelsey Barnes (Mendham, N.J.) and Lauren Todd (Newfields, N.H.), who caused three miscues and grabbed three ground balls apiece.

The Gulls will be on the Endicott Stadium turf again on Saturday afternoon when they welcome in Salve Regina for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Endicott, who is 3-0 in the conference, and the Seahawks will face off at 12:00 pm.

Southern Maine returns north to face in-state rival Husson on Sunday at noon.