BEVERLY, Mass. – Behind a pair of goals from Michaela McNamara (Warwick, R.I.) and Jade Meier (Fairbanks, Alaska), the Endicott women's ice hockey team defeated William Smith, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
McNamara buried both of her goals top-shelf, glove side (10:16, 1st | 15:17, 3rd), while Meier found the back of the net twice (12:13, 2nd | 2:49, 3rd) off feeds from Jillian Gibbs (Burlington, Vt.) to aid the Gulls to the win. McNamara's first goal, which opened up the scoring in the contest, came off a penalty shot in which she skated through the slot, and made a deke with her left leg to move William Smith's goalie closer to the left post before ripping a wrist shot top-shelf.
Endicott sophomore goaltender Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) stopped 31 shots to improve to 6-0-0 on the season, while Devon Strachan (West Chester, Pa.) made a career-high 35 saves in the loss (0-2-0).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- McNamara's penalty shot goal marks the second of its kind in program history (Linnea Jonsson, 18:25, 2nd period, vs. Becker on November 14, 2015).
- Dynnea Bezona (Fairbanks, Alaska) won a team-high seven faceoffs.
FOR THE FOES
- Lindsay Brown (Medfield, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season (third career) at 8:29 of the third period by stealing a puck along the right side boards, and firing a low shot inside the right post.
- Rebecca Begley (Fremont, N.H.) recorded a game-high four blocked shots.
- Krista Federow (Niagara Falls, Ont.) won a game-high 13 faceoffs, while Taylor Morash (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) registered 11 faceoff victories.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (9-0-0) hosts Wesleyan (Conn.) next Friday at 7 PM. William Smith (3-6-1) welcomes Connecticut College to its campus on January 1 & 2 for a pair of game starting at 7 and 3 PM, respectively. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.