SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey team traveled to Western New England on Saturday afternoon for a CCC matchup. Six different Gulls scored in the 6-1 victory as Endicott moves to 6-7, (3-3 CCC) while the Golden Bears fall to 2-11, (1-6 CCC).
The first half was controlled by the Gulls as they outshot the Golden Bears 13-3. Junior Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, N.H.) started the scoring early for Endicott at 7:11. Hurst accepted a rebound off an initial feed from junior Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) and dove to the ground to sweep the ball into the back of the net the take the early 1-0 lead.
Seven minutes later junior Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Conn.) added another tally to the board for the Blue and Green. Senior Stacie Teevens (Westborough, Mass.) started the play off as she dribbled down the right side and passed the ball to Sawchuck who then swept the ball across cage to find Walker in front of the goal.
Endicott kept chugging in the offensive circle, and at 18:52 the Gulls added another tally on the half. The Blue and Green were awarded a penalty corner and junior Meghan Leary (Hampton Falls, N.H.) grabbed the ball and saw junior Elizabeth LeClair (Wilton, Maine) on the left post and sent her the ball and LeClair was able to get a stick on it and tip it into the back of the net to take the 3-0 lead.
With 10 minutes remaining in the half the Golden Bears finally posted a tally on the board off a penalty corner. Freshman Shannon O'Rourke (Foxboro, Mass.) controlled a bumpy pass from senior Jaynie Mueller (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and lifted the ball to the top left corner of the goal past senior goalkeeper Lizetta Solarik (Carmel, N.Y.).
Five minutes later Sawchuck answered back after junior Alyssa Clark (Gorham, Maine) made a big hustle play and moved up the field to find Sawchuck who then dribbled down the end line and forced freshman goalkeeper Emily Arnold (Gilford, N.H.) off her angle and banked it into the right corner to go up 4-1 to enter halftime.
In the opening minute of the second frame Endicott posted their fifth goal of the game after Hurst found sophomore Morgan Bresnahan (Burlington, Vt.) on the left post where she was able to one time it into the goal. At 49:53 the Gulls capitalized off a corner play as LeClair inserted the ball to Clark and she blasted the ball past Arnold as it hit the backboard. The goal would be the last for Endicott as they wrapped up the game with a final of 6-1.
The offensive unit was solid for the Blue and Green this afternoon. Sawchuck led the squad in points with four while Clark talled a goal and a defensive save. Solarik did not see much action but came up with three saves during the contest, one of which was in the first half where she made a big aggressive save by coming out to meet a Golden Bear at the stroke mark and shut down the play to keep the ball out of the back of the net. Her counterpart, Arnold tallied an impressive 12 saves.
The Gulls just came off of a week of no contests and it seems to be just what the squad needed to get back on track after losing four straight contests prior to this afternoon. Endicott will look to Wednesday, October 16th as they start up round two of CCC play when they host Roger Williams at 4:00 p.m. The Golden Bears also look to Wednesday as they face off against CCC opponent Gordon at home for a 7:00 p.m. start.
