CCC Athletes of the Week - Week Ending September 28th
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – In a 3-0 week for the Endicott field hockey team that included two dramatic conference wins and an upset of a previously unbeaten regional power, the CCC awarded all three weekly awards to the Gulls. Senior forward Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) earned her fourth career Offensive Player of the Week award, senior defender Alyssa Clark (Gorham, Maine) captured CCC Defensive Player of the Week honors, and sophomore goalkeeper Cheka Ventura (Lawrence, Mass.) took home Rookie of the Week.
Endicott started off the week with a 3-2 overtime win at home over University of New England then two days later traveled down to MIT to clip an undefeated Engineers squad 1-0. On Homecoming Saturday, the Gulls trailed 3-1 at halftime to Salve Regina but rallied for a 4-3 win as Endicott could not lose in the month of September, going 9-0. The Blue and Green head into critical road games with a 9-1 (4-0 CCC) record.
Sawchuck had a stellar week for the Gulls as she had a huge hand in their three successes. The forward tallied at least two points in each game last week. In one of their biggest tests against CCC rival, UNE, Sawchuck came up big as she tallied two of the three Endicott goals in the 4-3 overtime victory. Two nights later Endicott traveled to regional powerhouse MIT, who has been receiving top-25 votes for the the past three weeks, and Sawchuck scored the game winner in a 1-0 victory which marked the first win over MIT since 1981. On Saturday for a homecoming battle with Salve Regina, the senior contributed to three of the four goals for the Blue and Green as they overcome a halftime deficit to win 4-3. Sawchuck had four goals and two assists for 10 points on the week.
Clark had one of her best weeks in a Blue and Green uniform as the center back recorded four defensive saves on the week while holding a strong defensive unit that allowed just five goals. Against UNE, the senior was stealthy in the back field as she stopped the ball high and kept the Nor'easters out of the defensive end for a good chunk of the second half. In overtime Clark sprinted back on recovery to stop a break away for UNE and helped transition the ball that eventually scored the game winner. In the biggest non-conference game of the season at MIT, Clark played one of her best games in her four-year career. The defender recorded an impressive three defensive saves in the incredible one goal victory. In the hard fought battle with CCC foe Salve Regina the senior worked a tough back line as they recovered from a three goal deficit in the first half to not allowing a single goal and only four shots in the second.
Ventura had an amazing week for the Blue and Green as she helped catapult the Gulls to three wins and nine straight for the Gulls. In one of the most anticipated match ups of the season against UNE, the goalkeeper played a standout game for Endicott making a career high 12 saves. In the non-conference battle with MIT the sophomore rookie made four big saves while helping lead the Blue and Green to their first victory over MIT since 1981. In the second conference game of the week Ventura made five stops in the victory while recovering from a three goal deficit in the first half to not allowing a goal in the second.
Sawchuck, Clark, Ventura, and the rest of the Endicott field hockey team return to action on Wednesday, October 1st with a conference road test against Nichols. The game starts at 7:00 pm in Dudley, Massachusetts.
