BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's soccer team hosted non-conference opponent Westfield State on Wednesday evening. Seven different Gulls tallied points to help lift the Gulls to a 4-0 shutout victory. Endicott improves to 6-6-1 (1-2-1 CCC) while the Owls fall to 2-8-1 (1-2-0 MASCAC).
Endicott will see action next on Saturday, October 11th as they travel to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent Western New England for an 11:00 a.m. start. The Owls will play next on Saturday as well when they travel to MASCAC opponent Salem State at 2:30 p.m.
The first half was controlled by the Blue and Green as they outshot their opponent 10-4 while earning six corner kicks and holding the Owls to zero.
The first goal of the match came from Endicott's Slobotzky as he netted his fifth goal of the season after he controlled a feed from sophomore Brion Likaj (Salem, Mass.) on the left side and blasted the ball into the back of the net for the early 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later the Blue and Green kept the high pressure in the final third after senior Zach Rizzo (Redding, Conn.) found the back of the net as he ripped a shot into the top shelf off a combination play by Likaj and junior Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) to take a two goal advantage.
After battling the offensive end for the remainder of the half the Gulls earned their third goal of the game in the final minutes of the first half after junior Mark Greco (Belchertown, Mass.) recorded his first goal of the season and second of his career after receiving a feed from sophomore Brian Blanchard (Hingham, Mass.) and sending the ball to goal. Senior goalkeeper Keith Hevey (Chicopee, Mass.) attempted to make the diving save on the goal line but his efforts were not enough as the ball trickled into the back of the net.
With one minute remaining in the first half the Owls had their biggest opportunity of the game to get a tally on the board after freshman Connor Gilbert (Melrose, Mass.) blasted a shot from the top of the final third that just hit the post and bounced out of play. Endicott held a three goal advantage heading into halftime.
The second half was against controlled by the Blue and Green as they outshot the Owls 11-4.
In the 61st minute the Blue and Green tallied their fourth and final goal of the game after junior Shintaroh Itoh (Tokyo, Japan) sent the ball across cage low off a free kick from the left side. After fumbling through a couple defenders, junior Kyle Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H) was able to control the bobble and send the ball into the back of the net for the 4-0 lead.
In the 77th minute Itoh had a huge opportunity for the Gulls as he blasted a shot from the top of the final third that just hit the post and bounced off goalkeeper Alex Karver (West Springfield, Mass.) and then out of bounce.
With 10 minutes remaining in the game the Owls had their second biggest opportunity of the game after the Gulls committed a hard foul in the box awarding Westfield a penalty shot. Junior Zack Horn (Carver, Mass.) stepped up to take the shot and went to the far right side but senior goalkeeper, Alex Jorge (Billerica, Mass.) was able to make the killer diving save to keep the Owls off the board.
The Blue and Green continued to pepper the Westfield defense for the remainder of the half but after numerous opportunities the four goals would be all the Owls would allow. Endicott blanked head coach, Joe Calabreses' alma mater 4-0 while seven different members of the Gulls squad tallied points.
Jorge ended the night with five saves while his counterparts, combined for five.
