Western Connecticut Upends Endicott, 3-1
Nov. 11, 2007
DANBURY, CT - The Endicott College women's soccer NCAA Tournament run came to an end on Sunday afternoon, as Western Connecticut State University eliminated the Gulls, 3-1, in Danbury, Connecticut.
The Colonials got on the board first as Kim Crayco (Bolton, CT) scored her 14th goal of the season just 12-minutes into the opening frame. Crayco collected a pass from Cassie Barbaresi (Brideport, CT) on the left side of the box and beat Endicott keeper Amy Meuse (Saugus, MA/Saugus) to the lower left. The assist marked Barbaresi's 12th of the season.
Just nine minutes later Western Connecticut went up 2-0 as Catherine Nathans (New Fairfield, CT) finished off a perfectly-placed corner kick in the middle of the box off the foot of Barbaresi.
Nathans netted her second goal of the contest in the 64th minute when she gathered a rebound off the crossbar from an initial shot by Cassie Barbaresi from 40-yards out. Nathans buried the rebound for her second-straight goal, which also gave Barbaresi her third assist of the day.
Endicott broke the shutout bid in the 88th minute as Paula McGinn (Lynn, MA/Lynn Classical) scored her second goal of the tournament off a direct kick from Sarah Miller (Nashua, NH/Bishop Geurtin) that came from 30-yards away.
West Conn netminder Jenna Cappellieri (Stratford, CT) made four saves before yielding to Shannon Cawley (Willimantic, CT) for the final seven minutes. Cawley made one save for the Colonials.
Endicott goalkeeper Amy Meuse was once again strong as she turned away 12 shots in the losing effort. Endicott ends the season with a 17-6-0 overall record.
The Colonials, 19-2-1, will face the winner of today's Worcester State College versus Union College second round match, being played at William Smith College in upstate New York. The site of the sectionals will be determined on Monday morning. It is West Conn's first trip beyond the second round. The Colonials advanced to the Round of 16 in 2001, when only 32 teams were invited to the NCAA Tournament. Western Connecticut has advanced to the second round five times in program history.