BEVERLY, Mass.- On Wednesday evening against Nichols, the Endicott women's soccer senior class added yet another win to their storied history as they defeated the Bison 1-0 behind the lone goal from Lexi Dussi (Boxford, Mass.) and a shutout performance from keeper Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.). With the win, Endicott improves to 11-5-1 overall and 6-1-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play while Nichols falls to 5-12-0 and 0-7-0 in CCC action.
As Endicott celebrated Senior Night against the Bison, the seven women improved their overall record to 55-25-7 (.632) and their conference record to 30-7-1 (.789) to date over their four years dawning the Blue and Green. Seniors Wyrsch, Sarah Person (Holden, Mass.), Madison Missinne (Ridgefield, Conn.), Allison Ferro (Shelton, Conn.), Heather Moody (Dunstable, Mass.), Dussi and Nicole Fournier (Milford, Mass.) were honored in a pregame ceremony for a group that has posted a cumulative GPA of 3.32 while also winning the 2012 ECAC Championship.
After the pregame ceremonies, the action started and would see both teams try to exert their will offensively early. On a through ball that saw the Nichols forward charging the ball in the box, Wyrsch made an aggressive play stepping up to stop the rush and make the stop to keep the score tied at zero. Endicott head coach Jodi Kenyon said, "Natalie had an excellent game. Her first save really set the tone as she made a solid save and showed that she was commanding the box."
Endicott countered quickly as Dussi displayed her offensive talents early and often by using deft touches and vision from her forward position. Heather Moody saw the best chance early as Dussi shook a defender and led Moody on for a shot that went just right of the goal. Sophomore Laura Wysocki (Somers, Conn.) would follow that as she made a run from roughly 30 yards out with possession on the left half of the field. She was able to play the ball right and edge out her defender as she took a shot on the run that went from right to left. The Bison keeper, Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.), would be forced to make a save that originally looked as though it might slip through her hands.
Determined, Endicott kept pouring on offensive pressure as Ashley Mueskes (Georgetown, Mass.) would line up for her third corner of the match just 17 minutes in. The cross would find Dussi who tried to one time it to the upper left corner but she just missed as the ball went high and left. Not thirty seconds later, Dussi would gather a short clear attempt and feed a cross to Wysocki. The sophomore snapped a shot on frame that would rock the crossbar and deflect to a defenders foot for a clear.
A shot from Moody that would fly just high would keep the score tied at zero before Dussi changed all of that. With the ball deep in Bison territory, Dussi was able to grab a loose ball and loft a beautiful shot on frame. Her shot would arc perfectly over Whitestone's reach and into the back of the net to make the score 1-0. The tally was Dussi's second of the season. "I thought Lexi played very well tonight," stated Coach Kenyon. "Her vision and play created a lot of opportunities for us in the offensive end."
While the 1-0 score would hold true to the end of the half and eventually, the match, it would not be indicative of the performance and effort put forth by both squads. To close the first half, Endicott would outshoot the Bison 12-3 while also taking seven corner kicks to none for Nichols. Of Endicott's 12 shots, four were on goal, forcing Whitestone to make three saves in the opening frame. Nichols managed to get just one on net in the first half which Wyrsch would save.
The second half would see great defensive plays from both squads as neither offense would break through for a goal. Endicott's offensive pressure would not ease however as the team got right back to work getting the ball deep in Bison territory and being rewarded with corners and shots. The first of five more corners would come just seven minutes into the second half and would lead to a shot from Moody that would go just right of the post.
Three more chances would prove to be quality scoring opportunities for the Gulls as defender Clare Mansfield (Stoneham, Mass.) would take a free kick after a Nichols foul from 25 yards out. Mansfield's shot would bounce just to the left of the near post and out of bounds for a Bison goal kick.
Just six minutes later in the 68th minutes, freshman Shelby McLenithan (Bennington, Vt.) showed a glimpse of her offensive ability as she outraced the Nichols defense to a ball that had been dumped in down the left sideline. McLenithan was able to get behind the last defender and took a break towards goal coming from left to right. At the last minute she shot on goal but Whitestone proved to be up to the challenge as she made the save.
The last opportunity came off of a beautiful cross into the box from an Endicott midfielder. Freshman Mackenzie Gaudet (Concord, N.H.) was able to get free inside the box as the cross was fed in. Gaudet would have buried it in the net had it not been for a great defensive play by Nichols that altered her shot and gave Whitestone her eighth and final save of the evening.
Endicott was able to out-shoot the Bison 21-4 in the match with nine of them being on goal. All four Nichols shots were on goal in the match. Endicott also held the edge in corners as they dominated 12-1.
The Gulls now look ahead to a Saturday trip to Biddeford, Maine to take on the University of New England in CCC action. The match is set for a 12 p.m. start. Nichols returns home to play host to CCC foe Eastern Nazarene at 2 p.m.
