Third Quarter Surge Pushes Women's Lacrosse Past No. 18 MIT, 10-9

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's lacrosse team defeated the No. 18 nationally ranked MIT, 10-9, in non-conference action at Hempstead Stadium on Wednesday night.

Emerson Clark (Gloucester, Mass.) highlighted the Gulls offense with four goals and two assists, while Leah Black (Cheshire, Conn.) added three goals and two assists.

Grace McAfee (Marmora, N.J.), Jaira Paine (Granby, Conn.), and Abbie Belleville (Salem, Conn.) all chipped in one tally apiece.

In goal, Payton Quirk (Nahant, Mass.) made five saves in the win as the sophomore's record is 1-0 this season.

Trailing by two at half, Endicott scored five unanswered goals over the next six minutes giving them the lead, 8-5, at the end of the frame with goals coming from Black (3) and Clark (2) in the stretch. MIT put an end to the scoring run with a goal at 5:09 mark which brought their deficit down to two. 

Belleville and Paine each found the back of the net to push Endicott in front at the end of the third quarter, 10-6. The Engineers did not give in as they buried three consecutive goals in the fourth quarter to cut the Gulls' advantage to just one with 6:50 to play. The blue and green held strong defensively until the final whistle allowing just three shots (all wide) while forcing a shot-clock violation and a Paine caused turnover to secure the win.

BEYOND THE BOX 

• Endicott now leads the all-time series 10-7 versus MIT.
• The Gulls are now 16-14 all-time in season openers.
• In her career when Black scores two or more goals, the blue and green are 5-1.
• Endicott defeats its first nationally ranked opponent since March 4, 2020, against No. 16 Trinity (W, 11-10)

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-0) visits Springfield on Saturday, March 1 at 3 PM. No. 18 MIT (0-1) hosts Westfield State University on Saturday, March 1 at 12 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)