Oct. 25, 2006
BEVERLY, MA - Kyle Schmutte (Wilbraham, MA/Wilbraham-Monson) led the Gulls to their sixth straight win as he scored the game winning goal against St. Joseph's of Maine to wrap up the 2006 regular season with a 2-0 win Wednesday night.
Schmutte scored the eventual game winner in the opening minutes of the second half when he received a pass from Eric Booth (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) inside the Monks six yard box and lifted a shot past SJC goalkeeper Cory Smith (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth).
The Gulls would add another goal when senior Ruben Margolis (Mexico City/Nuevo Colegio) headed home a throw in from TJ Sapienza (Milford, NH/Milford) giving EC the 2-0 win. Margolis' goal was very fitting for the Gulls as Wednesday was senior day at Endicott Stadium.
Margolis along with fellow seniors Bobby Thompson (Narragansett, RI/Narragansett), Joshua Golden (Narragansett, RI/Narragansett), Tyler Hardy (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline), Chris Croteau (Groveland, MA/Pentucket), Erik Kurian (Mexico City/Nuevo Colegio), Brian Thopsey (Farmington, CT/Farmington) and goalkeeper Colin Kemble (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) played their final regular season game on the turf.
EC out shot the Monks 24-9 in route to the victory, a key for the Gulls was the strong play of their eight seniors as Margolis scored an insurance goal and Kemble turned away three shots while Hardy was steady for the defense. Kurian and Thopsey also provided an offensive spark for Endicott. Croteau was a big part in the win as he not only controlled the midfield, as he has done all season long, but he also played the final minutes of the game in net, making one save to help combine with Kemble and Cameron Twiss (Reading, MA/Bishop Fenwick) to shut out St. Joe's.
With the win the Gulls improve to 8-9 overall, their 6-5 record in the CCC has them in fifth place in the conference. New England College defeated Curry College in other CCC action on Wednesday, clinching the fourth seed in the post season tournament. The Gulls will next head to Henniker, NH for a first round match up with the Pilgrims on Saturday, that start time will be announced later in the week and fans are encouraged to keep an eye on ecgulls.com for any updates.
