BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey team hosted Western New England in their last regular season match on Saturday afternoon. The Gulls also used the contest as a day to recognize their six graduating seniors. Senior Amanda Glynn (Hampton, N.H.) tallied the lone goal for the senior class but the victory was all they needed as they were victorious over the Golden Bears 7-1 to earn themselves a place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) playoffs. Endicott finishes the regular season at 9-10, (6-6 CCC) while WNE ends their season at 2-10, (3-15 CCC).
The first frame was controlled by the Blue and Green as they outshot WNE 16-4. In the opening minutes junior Elizabeth LeClair (Wilton, Maine) took the ball off a long hit and drove the end line all the way down until she reached the back of the net as she slipped the ball past freshman goalkeeper Jessica Hale (Westfield, Mass.) to nab the early lead.
Six minutes later the Gulls fired again as juniors Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Conn.) and Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, N.H.) made a nice combo play as Walker passed the ball across cage to find Hurst on the right post who then swept the ball into the back of the net to take the 2-0 lead.
Both sides were quiet for the next 12 minutes as neither side could snag a tally. At the 21st minute of play the Blue and Green were slamming the Golden Bears defense until Glynn was able to control a rebound off Hale's pads and blasted the shot right back at her to find the backboard and the three goal advantage.
Two minutes later juniors Hurst and Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) had a great breakaway opportunity when Hurst sent the ball through to Sawchuck who was left wide open alone in front of the goal with just Hale in her way, she made a quick move and flicked the ball into the left side of the cage to take the 4-0 heading into halftime.
The second half was a mirror to the first as Endicott outshot the Golden Bears 14-7. Four minutes into the frame Sawchuck netted her second goal of the game after she controlled a rebound off a corner at the top of the circle and ripped a shot to find the back of the net.
Seven minutes later Mackenzie Hurst took her turn to tally a second goal after LeClair sent a crisp pass to the post from the stroke mark to find Hurst who then swept the ball past freshman goalkeeper Emily Arnold (Gilford, N.H.) who came in to relieve Hale late in the first half.
In the 64th minute WNE saw an opportunity to get a tally on the scoreboard, when senior Alissa Doiron (Worcester, Mass.) sent the ball from the top of the circle towards the right post to find sophomore Tori Cirocco (Carmel, N.Y.) for the tip in to earn a spot on the board.
The Blue and Green would not take the goal lightly as 30 seconds went by when Sawchuch and Hurst tallied their second combo of the day to give Sawchuck a hatrick as she sent the ball past Arnold to give the Gulls a 7-1 final score in the much needed victory over WNE.
With the win the Gulls earn a berth to the CCC playoffs, where they now await to hear their seeding in the tournament.
