Oct. 11, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Two second half goals from Endicott's Anna Giannoni (Granby, Conn.) proved to be enough to propel the Gulls over visiting University of New England, 3-1, in a TCCC field hockey contest on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Endicott remains unbeaten in conference play (5-0) and moves to 12-3 overall. The loss drops the Nor'easters to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
The first half was marked by several scoring opportunities for both sides; however neither was able to capitalize, sending the teams into the intermission knotted at zero. Much of the pressure was on the Gulls to start the game, as the Nor'easters held possession for a majority of the opening five minutes. Endicott's Alexandra Parese (Wilton, Conn.) and Anna Giannoni were eventually able to put together some offensive chemistry, as the Gulls turned the tide and began working their offense in New England territory.
The most exciting moments of the first half occurred between the eighteen and sixteen minute marks, as constant rushes up and down the field resulted in near goals for both sides. The Gulls first opportunity came when a Parese pass to teammate Lindsey Mills (Arlington, Mass.) resulted in a great save by UNE goaltender Ayla Nelson (Auburn, Mass). Just moments later, the Nor'easter's made a swift rush up field, leaving many Endicott defenders back in offensive territory. Gulls' goaltender Chelsea DeFeo (York, Maine) was forced to come off her line to make a play on the attacker, turning the shot away with a sprawling save.
With the changing of sides came an apparent changing of momentum for the Gulls as they broke the scoreless tie within minutes of the start of the second half. After a cut across field and a hard shot on net, Giannoni was awarded a penalty shot which she capitalized on, beating the Nor'easter goalkeeper to the right hand side.
Fifteen minutes later at midway through the second half, Giannoni made the best of yet another opportunity. With teammate Jennifer Beech (Devonshire, Bermuda) ripping a shot from 35 yards out and a subsequent scramble around the net, Giannoni came out of the pack with hands held high as she buried the rebound opportunity for the 2-0 lead.
Feeling the pressure, the Nor'easters took a quick timeout in an attempt to regain some sort of momentum- and they did just that. Just moments later UNE forward Taryn Flagg (Livermore Falls, Maine), the team's leading scorer, netted her first of the game to cut the deficit to just one.
Responding swiftly, Endicott's Beech gave the Gulls an insurance goal as she scrambled for a loose ball in front of the net, sliding home the shot for a commanding 3-1 lead. From there, the Endicott defense buckled down to close out the game and secure the win.
The Gulls hope to continue their impressive season at home as they host Western New England College on Tuesday afternoon. The University of New England looks to rebound against non-conference Maine-Farmington on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.
