WENHAM, Mass. – The Endicott women's lacrosse team closed the door on facing Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponents in regular-season action in 2017 with a literal shutout, 16-0, at cross-town rival Gordon College on a stormy Tuesday night at the Brigham Athletic Complex.
With tonight's victory, the Gulls clinched the CCC's regular-season title by going undefeated in conference play (8-0) for the fifth time in the program's 22-year history to earn the right to a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed heading into the upcoming conference postseason tournament.
The Fighting Scots kept the red-hot Gulls' offensive attack off the scoreboard longer to begin a game than every other conference opponent this season (except UNE by a slim margin), until senior midfielder Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) finally broke through the defense at the 22:22 minute mark of the opening stanza on a feed from sophomore midfielder Jackie Neilsen (Agawam, Mass.).
Whitney's strike then ignited a string of ferocious scoring that occurred approximately every 30 seconds for first five goals and the squad headed into halftime with a cushy 13-0 lead.
The Gulls tacked on three more goals in the second half en route to Endicott's ninth consecutive win with one non-conference game remaining in the regular season to prepare the Gulls for postseason play.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott's regular-season title is the first under third-year head coach Morgan Maciewicz.
- Overall, Endicott outscored CCC opponents by total of 150 to 39 this season.
- Endicott's 221 total goals through 15 games this season ranks 10th on the program's all-time list for most goals scored in a single season as a team.
- The Gulls also went undefeated in conference play in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 seasons.
- Tonight's combined shutout effort was just the seventh clean sheet in program history (fourth on the road) and first occurrence since a 22-0 win at home versus Regis on April 17, 2010.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) picked up her eighth win with three saves in 40:18 minutes of action to go undefeated in the conference in goal this season in eight starts and 13 appearances overall.
- Senior netminder Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) made three saves in the final 19:42 time to combine for the shutout with Rino.
- Whitney finished with a game-high six points (game-high four goals, two assists) and now has tallied 10 multi-goal games this season, including seven consecutive outings notching at least four goals. Of her 58 points (38 goals, 20 assists) this season, 40 points have come in the past seven games.
- Whitney also caused a game-high two turnovers to bring her season total to 27, good for the team-lead and seventh-most in all of the CCC.
- Junior midfielder Olivia Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) won a game-high seven draw controls for a personal season-high (two shy of matching career-high) as Endicott won 14 to Gordon's four.
- Sophomore midfielder Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.) dished out a game-best three assists to go with a pair of goals, while senior attack Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) and sophomore attack Jackie Healy (Northborough, Mass.) each scored hat tricks.
FOR THE FOES
- Gordon's current losing skid extended to five with tonight's loss.
- This game was Gordon's second time appearing in a shutout game, but first time on the losing end. (Defeated Dean, 20-0, on April 8, 2017 in Gordon's most recent victory of the season.)
- Freshman goalkeeper Melanie Dwyer (Reading, Mass.) fell to 6-8 on the season by allowing all 16 goals and making three saves.
- Senior midfielder Lindsey Congdon (Exeter, N.H.) tied for a game-high with Endicott's Rino with three ground balls.
NOTES
- The Gulls are now 15-12 all-time against Gordon dating back prior to the 2001 season.
- Gordon won the most recent meeting before today, 10-8, in Beverly, Mass. last season on March 30, 2016.
- The Gulls closed out the regular season conference slate with Gordon this season while opening the CCC gates with the Fighting Scots last year.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (12-3, 8-0 CCC) will take on Babson on Saturday, April 29th at 4:00 p.m. in a game rescheduled from March 11th.
Gordon (8-8, 3-5 CCC) awaits the CCC pairings to be announced later tonight, as the CCC Tournament will begin with the Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 29th. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(Photo Credit - Mike Conners)