Top-seeded Gulls sneak past No. 8 Nichols, 1-0
Nov. 1, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year Caitlin Flynn (Southold, N.Y.) scored in the 67th minute to help lift top-seeded Endicott past No. 8 Nichols College, 1-0, in a TCCC Quarterfinal women's soccer matchup in Beverly, Massachusetts. With the win, Endicott improves to 14-2-2 and will host a semifinal game on Tuesday afternoon. Nichols closes out the year at 10-8-1.
Endicott was quick to gain dominance as the Blue and Green held a 15-1 shots advantage in the first half. The Gulls had their best scoring opportunity of the frame with just 3:26 left in the stanza as Caitlin Flynn pushed a nice pass to Kayla Plante (Sanford, Maine), who directed a shot off the right post before a Nichols' defender cleared away any rebound attempt. The two squads would enter the intermission gridlocked at 0-0.
The Gulls were finally able to break through on senior goalkeeper Sarah Levesque (Ludlow, Mass.) as Flynn notched her team-leading 16th goal of the season. Junior Allyson Bellemore (Manchester, N.H.) made the play happen as the forward threaded a pass through two defenders at the top of the box, springing Flynn 1-on-1 with the goalie where she was able to bury a shot to the lower-right corner for the 1-0 lead.
The slim advantage was all the Gulls needed as the Blue and Green held on for the one-goal victory. Endicott outshot the visitors, 25-5, and held a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks. Senior Amy Meuse (Saugus, Mass.) made four saves for her sixth shutout of the season while her counterpart Sarah Levesque made 12 stops in the hard-luck loss.
Endicott will host fourth-seeded Gordon College on Tuesday afternoon in Beverly, Massachusetts. The start time for the TCCC Semifinals is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Gulls and the Fighting Scots battled to a 1-1 draw on October 7th in Wenham.