BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Endicott men's soccer team opened its 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) campaign on the road and came away with a 6-0 rout of the U. of New England Nor'easters Saturday afternoon at Barbara J. Hazard Field.
With the win, Endicott improves to 2-1-1 (1-0-0 CCC), while the Nor'easters drop to 1-3 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play.
The Gulls were firing on all cylinders as they netted four goals in the first half.
Sophomore forward Diego Maillo (Plantation, Fla.) was the first to light up the scoreboard with a shot from close range off a long throw in from sophomore back Carter Ocko (Danvers, Mass.) to register his second goal of the season in the 14th minute.
Senior forward Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) blasted his second (unassisted) and third goals (Maillo) of the season in just over two minutes apart midway through the half.
Endicott added another goal in the 38th minute on a close range toe-poke by sophomore forward Marc Deleppo (Hudson, Mass.) from junior midfielder Brion Likaj (Salem, Mass.) to round out the scoring in the first stanza.
Senior forward Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico) took a low shot to the back of the net for his second goal of the season in the 52nd minute off a pass from sophomore midfielder Conner Couchot (Mason, Ohio).
Freshman midfielder Jake Lambert (Ramsey, N.J.) scored his first collegiate goal off a rebound in the 88th minute to close out the game. Fellow classmate Chris Montani (Fairfield, Conn.) recorded his first career assist in the effort.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's match saw junior goalkeeper Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) post his second shutout of the season.
- Six goals are the most the Gulls have scored in a game since a 6-1 win over Curry College on Oct. 22, 2014.
- Endicott out-shot UNE 5-0 in the first half and connected on four shots to create scoring opportunities.
- The last time the Gulls scored four goals in a half was a 5-1 win over Elms College on Nov. 12, 2014 in the ECAC Division III New England Quarterfinals when the team netted four in the second half.
- The last time Endicott led by at least a 4-0 score after the first stanza was a six-goal first half performance against Rivier on Sept. 5, 2012 at home.
- Junior goalkeeper Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) (2-1-1) made one saves in the second half.
FOR THE FOES
- Freshman midfielder Kenny Sawyer (Peabody, Mass.) had the only shot on goal for the Nor'easters.
- Junior goalkeeper Elijah Leverett (North Yarmouth, Maine) (1-2-0) allowed four goals before being replaced by freshman goalkeeper Jake Rostkowski (Rockport, Mass.) in the second half. Rostkowski saw his first collegiate action and recorded two saves.
NOTES
- Today's match saw the Gulls improve to 11-4-1 all-time against U. of New England, dating back to their first meeting prior to the 2001 season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (2-1-1) continues its two-game road trip with a Tuesday, September 15 meeting with Lasell College at 4:00 p.m. before returning home to host conference rival Nichols on Friday. The U. of New England (1-3-0, 0-1-0) returns to action on September 15 at UMaine Farmington at 4:00 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.