BEVERLY, Mass. – Senior midfielder Ashleigh Allen (Glastonbury, Conn.) recorded her first career hat trick as the Endicott field hockey team took down the visiting Western New England Golden Bears Wednesday night at North Field in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action behind five goals in the second half to break open a 2-2 game.
With the win, Endicott improved to 6-5 overall (4-1 CCC), while WNE fell to 4-4, 1-3 in conference play.
Senior forward Morgan Bresnahan (South Burlington, Vt.) got things started for the Gulls as she took a pass on the right wing from freshman forward Sophia Cogliano (Saugus, Mass.) and one-touched it past sophomore goalkeeper Grace Trupe (Cardiff, Calif.) in the 7th minute.
Allen deposited her first of three markers on the night in the 22nd minute (unassisted) on a flicked shot she elevated from inside the circle to put the Blue and Green up 2-0.
Sophomore forward Michelle Carlson (Hackettstown, N.J.) got the Golden Bears on the scoreboard with a redirected ball from freshman midfielder Emily Antinozzi (Rye, N.Y.) that hit the back middle of the cage with a thud in the 26th minute.
Carlson knotted the score at two-all right before halftime (34th minute) on another redirected shot in front of the cage to the back left on a ball from sophomore forward Brittany DeLima (Branchville, N.J.).
Allen potted her second goal of the game (unassisted) in the 41st minute, followed by sophomore back Melanie Kaleta (Bellingham, Mass.) finding the back of the cage for the first time this season just four minutes later (45th minute) on a rebound into the back left.
Cogliano bounced a ball off of the post and into the back right (unassisted) for her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 47th minute.
Allen flicked the ball to draw the goalkeeper out and then hit a hard shot to the back of the cage (unassisted) to earn her first career hat trick in the 54th minute.
Freshman forward Molly McInerney (New Fairfield, Conn.) capped the scoring for the Gulls at 7-2 in the 59th minute with a shot she tipped in from freshman midfielder Meghan Stanton (Newburyport, Mass.) for her second goal of the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The last hat trick for the Gulls occurred on Oct. 14, 2014 in a 4-1 win over Husson as Emily Sawchuck tallied three goals.
- The Gulls have scored five second half goals in consecutive games (6-0 win over Nichols on September 26).
- Allen scored her first game-winning goal of the season (sixth career).
- Cogliano's late goal put her in a three-way tie for second in the CCC in goals (9).
- Cogliano has recorded at least one goal and one assist in the past two games.
- Stanton contributed her second assist of the season.
- Senior back Kristen O'Brien (New Boston, N.H.) registered her second defensive save of the season (12th career), leaving her two shy of the all-time record held by Emily O'Halloran '12.
- Senior goalkeeper Rose Bradley (Pottstown, Pa.) made five saves (tied for second in the CCC with 63 total) to improve to 5-5 on the season.
FOR THE FOES
- Carlson's pair of goals brings her season total to four.
- Trupe (4-4) made eight saves for WNE before being replaced by sophomore goalkeeper Dominique Corveddu (Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y.) with 11:40 remaining. Corveddu tallied three saves.
NOTES
- Endicott moves to 13-5 all-time against the Golden Bears dating back to the 2003 season as the Gulls have won the last nine meetings, with a 6-1 record at North Field.
- The field hockey team bookended an eight-home game September with wins in the season opener and a victory on the final day of the month as the team went 3-5 on the home field in this stretch.
- The start time from this game moved twice, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and then 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. due to weather concerns.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (6-5, 4-1 CCC) will travel to Gordon College on Saturday, October 3 for an 11:00 a.m. start against the Fighting Scots.
Western New England (4-4, 1-3 CCC) hosts Nichols on Friday, October 2 at 5:00 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
