Posted: May 23, 2011
The Endicott men’s lacrosse team repeated as The
Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Champions and reached the
second round of the NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Tournament in
back-to-back seasons, capping off a successful 2011 season for the
Gulls.
The Blue and Green erased a two-goal deficit with just under three minutes remaining in the TCCC title game against Western New England and after a man-up goal by sophomore attacker Brian Estes (Derry, N.H.) with 1:21 remaining in regulation sent the game into overtime, senior midfielder Kyle Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) scored the game-winner to send Endicott into their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance.
In the national tournament, the Gulls hosted a first round match up against Springfield College at Endicott Stadium. Endicott faced then 18th-ranked Springfield at home back on March 2nd, the second game of the season and beat the Pride 9-6. In front of nearly 1,500 fans at Endicott Stadium on May 11th in the NCAA First Round game, the Gulls repeated their early season success against the Pride with a narrow 6-5 victory. Senior midfielder Chris Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) put the Blue and Green up 6-3 early in the fourth quarter and despite back-to-back goals by Springfield, Endicott held on to advance in the tournament.
Endicott earned the right to travel to the number one team in the nation, Salisbury University, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Having already defeated a \#1 ranked team in Tufts University, 9-8 back on April 12th, the Gulls were confident in their chances of moving past the second round for the first time in program history. Salisbury bolted out to a 6-1 midway through the first quarter, but the Gulls defensive front and goalkeeping locked down, allowing Endicott to get back into the game. At the 2:26 mark of the third quarter, Endicott had stormed back to trail by just one goal at 8-7 after an unassisted strike by junior midfielder Brendan Eppley (Darien, Conn.). A strong fourth quarter by Salisbury, however, squashed Endicott’s hopes of another tournament game as the Seagulls went on to win 12-8.
The loss capped off a 16-5 season for the Gulls, their 15th straight year with at least 10 wins. In conference play the Gulls went 9-1, continuing their long-standing success (.924 win percentage) against league opponents.
Numerous players earned accolades for their efforts on the field in 2011. Eleven Gulls made the All-TCCC Team, including four First Team, five Second Team, a Honorable Mention and the conference’s Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, midfielder Chris Gugino (West Hartford, Conn.). Three of those eleven All-TCCC honorees, Andrew Pochebit (Portland, Maine), Robert Crossett (Katonah, N.Y.) and Jack Curtis (Chelmsford, Mass.), were also recognized by the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) as All-New England players.
Senior captain and First Team All-TCCC winner Chris Cotter, led the Blue and Green with 61 points on 37 goals and 24 assists. Second Team All-TCCC honoree Jack Curtis, a senior captain as well, had a team-high 28 assists while scoring 31 goals for a total of 59 points. Sophomore attacker Connor McCormack netted 42 goals, tops on the team, and was named to the Second Team All-TCCC.
Junior Sam Ozycz (Cheshire, Conn.) was one of the top face off men not only in the conference but in the nation, winning 303-of-470 face offs (64.5%) and scooping 201 groundballs. Ozycz scored 10 goals and assisted on four more as the junior earned First Team All-TCCC honors.
On the defensive end, three senior defenders were awarded All-TCCC honors. Senior captains Robert Crossett and Andrew Pochebit were both named First Team All-TCCC after accumulating 51 and 44 caused turnovers, respectively. Fellow senior defender Kevin Downes (Cheshire, Conn.) had a solid season as well, causing 15 turnovers and grabbing 41 groundballs en route to a Second Team All-TCCC nod.
In the cage, sophomore Mike Klein (Darien, Conn.) logged over 1,000 minutes in goal for the Gulls and finished with a 14-4 record. He made 169 saves, sported a 8.16 goals against average and a .554 save percentage. He was named Second Team All-TCCC.
Rounding out the conference awards for athletic achievements were Second Team All-TCCC sophomore Brian Estes, a 51-point getter with 37 goals and 14 assists, and senior Kyle Jordan who scored 25 times in 21 games played with two assists to garner a Honorable Mention nod.
As a team, Endicott was ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense (14.76), ninth in scoring margin (+7.19), 10th in face off win percentage (.637), and twelfth in man-up offense (.388) and groundballs per game (41.14). Ozycz ranked eighth in the country in groundballs (9.25) and face off win percentage (.645).
