BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men’s soccer team hosted Bridgewater State for their 2011 home opener at Endicott Stadium, but lost to the Bears 2-0 behind two first half goals.
The Gulls drop to 0-2 on the early season while Bridgewater State, competing in their first match of the year, improve to 1-0.
Midway through the first half, Bears junior forward Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) scored after collecting a loose ball near the Endicott box. Mendes beat his defender and placed a low shot past Gulls keeper Alex Jorge (Billerica, Mass.) who came out to defend.
Bridgewater State struck again in the 44th minute on another loose ball goal as Bears senior forward Mike Fraser was able to sneak a short flick shot over the goalie’s fingers to put the visitors up 2-0.
Endicott had chances to score early in the first half on corner kick opportunities. Sophomore Alex Elia (Somers, Conn.) headed a ball just over the crossbar and senior Ryan Coates (Wethersfield, Conn.) footed a shot that sailed over the top of the net as well.
In the second half, Bridgewater State looked to make it 3-0 on a one-on-one attempt by Bears sophomore Craig Shadduck (Braintree, Mass.). Endicott goalie Aaron Kanter (Medfield, Mass.), who started the second half, ran up and made a save on Shadduck’s close range shot up the middle to keep the score at 2-0. Kanter finished with three saves in the second half.
Endicott had one more opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the 89th minute on a strong attempt to the lower left corner of the net by sophomore Bobby Durben (Stow, Mass.), but a Bears defender was covering the post and made the save.
Bridgewater State goalie sophomore Joe Parsons (Springfield, Mass.) earned the win without having to make a save.
The Gulls were outshot 9-7 but held a 10-2 advantage on corner kicks in the match.
Endicott opens up their 2011 Commonwealth Coast Conference schedule on Saturday, September 10th against Western New England. The match will be played at home starting at 3:30 pm. Bridgewater State returns to the North Shore on Wednesday, September 7th for a 4:00 pm match against Gordon.