Oct. 31, 2007
HENNIKER, NH - New England College scored two second half goals to defeat Endicott College, 2-0, in the Semifinals of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon in Henniker, New Hampshire.
The two teams played a back-and-forth contest throughout much of the opening half. The Pilgrims had a scoring opportunity midway through the first frame, however Endicott defender Jennifer Beech (Devonshire, Bermuda/Saltas Grammar) tallied an impressive defensive save off a shot from NEC's Marissa Ayotte (Feeding Hills, MA) to keep the game knotted at 0-all. The Gulls did have their share of scoring opportunities in the circle, but the Pilgrim defense was up to the task to keep Endicott from gathering a shot on net.
The Pilgrims' top goal scorer Amanda Lester (Columbia, CT) put the home team on the board as she took a feed from Ashley Simula (Bridgewater, NH) and found the back of the net just 3:10 into the second half to give NEC the 1-0 lead. The Pilgrims would add another score just minutes later when Marisa Ayotte deflected a shot by Courtney Pitcher (Biddeford, ME) past goalkeeper Chelsea DeFeo (York, ME/York) to double the NEC advantage.
Endicott's offense would work to get four shots and two corner opportunities late in the half but again the Pilgrim defense would come up huge, securing the 2-0 victory.
Picking up the win in goal for NEC was Mary Roux (Auburn, MA) who finished with two saves on the afternoon. Endicott's Chelsea DeFeo recorded six saves in the loss.
New England College improves to 13-6 and will host the fourth-seeded Nichols College Bison in the TCCC Championship game on Saturday, Nov 3 at 1:00 p.m. Endicott College drops to 11-6 and awaits word on a possible ECAC Tournament bid.
