The Trip Back to the Top; A Look Back at the 2013 Women’s Soccer Season

BEVERLY, Mass.-  The 2013 women's soccer season started yet again with high hopes and expectations.  Coaches around the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) pegged the team to finish second in their preseason poll behind bitter rival Roger Williams, and just ahead of cross-town rival Gordon.  This senior class of Lexi Dussi (Boxford, Mass.), Allison Ferro (Shelton, Conn.), Nicole Fournier (Milford, Mass.), Madison Missinne (Ridgefield, Conn.), Heather Moody (Dustable, Mass.), Sarah Person (Holden, Mass.) and Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.) had seen a great deal of success over their four year careers but had yet to get back to the top and claim the CCC title.  Their fourth and final try would prove to be the one as they accomplished their goal with a certain flare for the dramatic.

A trip to the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. would mark the official start to the season after two weeks of preseason.  The Gulls would stumble out of the gate as Rochester and Union would take them down by scores of 2-1 and 1-0 to start 0-2 on the season.  Returning home, Endicott would square off against North Shore rival Salem State for their portion of the North Shore Cup competition.  Following two scoreless overtime periods, the Gulls and Vikings would close with a 1-1 tie to see the Gulls move to 0-2-1 overall.  A 1-0 loss to Keene State followed the Salem State match and saw Endicott sitting with a 0-3-1 record and pressure mounting to get their first victory.

The team's first win of 2013 came against the Lasers of Lasell by virtue of a 1-0 decision.  That win would set in motion the team's first win streak of two on the season that would be of at least seven victories or more.  Over this particular streak, the Gulls would take down the likes of Lasell, Smith, Wellesley, #13 Roger Williams, Babson, Wentworth and Plymouth State by a combined score of 18-4.  Within this streak, the Gulls earned one overtime victory, and a double overtime victory over Roger Williams who entered the match ranked #13 in the country and undefeated with a 6-0-1 record.  Laura Wysocki's (Somers, Conn.) first two career goals, the second of which came in the 104^th minute, would lift the Gulls to victory and would prove to be a sign of things to come on the young season as Wysocki would go on to net a team leading seven goals and 16 points in her second season of play.  The victory would also be a little sweeter in knowing that in the three previous years Roger Williams had ended Endicott's season with two victories coming via penalty kicks and one by a 1-0 decision in the last three CCC Tournaments.

The team's first CCC loss would come in the first match of October as Western New England would edge the Gulls 1-0 on Homecoming weekend.  Three days later Tufts would edge Endicott 3-0 in what would be the team's last loss until the second round of the NCAA tournament.  With the women getting a nice 5-0 outcome over Salve Regina, they would rip off a string of six straight wins the rest of the regular season to lock up the #1 seed in the CCC Tournament in their quest for the program's ninth CCC title.

Knowing that the playoffs are a different beast completely, the Gulls were in for a battle each and every time out, especially with the target of the top seed.  Endicott's first round match against Curry would be the first of three CCC Tournament matches to go into at least one overtime period.  The Gulls would take home a 2-1 OT win behind Wysocki's game winner in the 93^rd minute to advance to the Semifinal round against Wentworth, a team that had defeated 3-1 a month and a half earlier.  The Gulls and Leopards would stand in a scoreless draw after regulation, forcing an overtime frame yet again in which senior Heather Moody would notch her second goal of the season at the 99:40 mark to lift Endicott to victory and into the CCC Championship match for the third time in four seasons.  With plenty of deep CCC Tournament runs to their credit, and an ECAC Championship title under their belts from the 2012 campaign, the seniors knew they were battle tested and ready to bring the CCC title back home to Beverly, Mass.

With Gordon upsetting Roger Williams in penalty kicks in the other CCC semifinal round, the Gulls would play host to their cross-town rivals for the title in what would be yet another nail biting affair.  Through 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime periods, the match remained scoreless setting up a penalty kick scenario to decide who would be named CCC Champions.  The Gulls would advance following a 3-1 PK advantage that was preserved following a clutch Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) save and was clinched with a Sarah Person make.  

With the win, the Gulls readied themselves for the NCAA tournament for the 10^th time in program history and the first for this group of seven seniors.  The team headed to Middlebury to take on Scranton in the first round, a program that had 15 NCAA appearances to its name.  Behind LeeAnn Card's (Paxton, Mass.) fourth goal of the season that came in the 33^rd minute and a great defensive team effort, the Gulls would post a 1-0 victory and advance to the second round to play host Middlebury.  Middlebury, who entered the match 14-1-3, jumped out to a 2-0 lead until the 79^th minute when Vermont native Shelby McLenithan (Bennington, Vt.) found midfielder LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) who would notch her fourth goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 with four minutes to play.  A couple of close chances would come up just short as the 2-1 score would hold after 90 minutes to end Endicott's season with a record of 16-6-2.

For the entire 2013 roster, the season was an incredibly memorable run.  For the group of seven seniors in particular, the previous three years proved to be preparation for what was to come in 2013.  Two conference finals appearances, three conference tournament appearances, three ECAC finals appearances and one ECAC Championship title proved to be steps one through three of getting to their ultimate goal.  With the maturity and experience gained from those years as well as the talented underclassmen joining the roster, the 2013 team was able to complete the journey back to the top and closed the season with heads held high as champions.

"I am incredibly proud of the team and individual accomplishments that team achieved this fall," stated head coach Jodi Kenyon.  "The cohesion and complete team effort given every day was a testament to the leadership of the seven seniors."