MIDDLEBURY, Vt.- In Sunday's NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Tournament second round match against Middlebury, Endicott ran into one of the stingiest defenses in the region and eventually fell 2-1 to end their NCAA run. The Gulls conclude the 2013 season with a 16-6-2 record overall, a regular and post season Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship and the program's 10th NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Gulls would find offensive chances hard to come by against a Panthers defense that entered the match allowing just 0.44 goals per game on the season while limiting opponents to a miniscule 6.6 shots per game as well. With an Endicott offense that entered averaging 17.5 shots per game and 2.0 goals per game, something had to give in this match. In the end, it was the Middlebury back line that would prove near impossible to break through as they held Endicott off the board for the first 85 minutes of the match.
Sophomore midfielder LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) would put the Gulls first goal in the books to close the score to 2-1 with less than five minutes to play. The goal, her fourth of the season and second of the NCAA tournament, would prove to be all Endicott would be able to muster as the score would close at 2-1.
Card's goal would seemingly energize Endicott as their offense, which had been contained for much of the match prior to that point, would gain momentum and provide sparks quick. The Gulls would nearly tie the score a minute after Card's goal as senior Madison Missinne (Ridgefield, Conn.) received a cross while on the run in the box and rifle a one timer that just went over the cross bar and would leave Missinne laying on the ground after giving everything she could give.
Coach Jodi Kenyon quickly pointed to a trio of Gulls for their performances on Sunday afternoon. "LeeAnn Card, Sarah Person (Holden, Mass.) and Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) left it all on the field today. They provided unbelievable efforts that were more than we could have asked for and collectively kept us in the match against a very solid Middlebury team through to the very end," Kenyon stated.
Card's efforts from her midfield position on both sides of the ball provided assistance for the defensive unit that was headlined by Person and Donnelly in net. The Gulls performance on the defensive side of the ball proved to be the key to keeping them in the match as it has been all season long. Endicott closes the season with just 17 goals allowed in 24 matches, for an average of .71 goals allowed per contest all season compared to 48 goals for the Gulls. Today's effort would come up just short as the season would close in the NCAA 2nd round, the first NCAA appearance for the team in the last four years. Donnelly was able to make five saves on seven shots on goal to keep the Gulls in the match.
