BEVERLY, Mass.- The Endicott women's soccer team knew that the Nor'easters of the University of New England (UNE) would be looking to make a statement on Saturday following last season's 8-1 loss to the Gulls and the visitors did, winning the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both squads by a score of 2-1. With the loss, Endicott falls to 2-2-1 (0-1-0 CCC) while UNE remains undefeated at 4-0-0 (1-0-0 CCC).
Despite out-shooting the visitors 12-4 in the first half and 22-6 for the match, the Gulls had a difficult time beating UNE keeper Brielle Robinson (Monson, Mass.) as the sophomore would improve to 2-0-0 on the season while making a match and season high nine saves on 10 shots. Her counterpart, Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.), saw her record fall to 2-2-1 on the season as the Gulls came up short.
The Nor'Easters would nearly get on the board in the first minute as Jackie Dickerson (Windham, N.H.) received a pass in space on the run and broke away from the Endicott backline and dribbled towards the Endicott box causing Donnelly to come off her line and dive to corral the ball as she stopped the chance. Hungry for more, it was Dickerson again in the 15th minute who would net the first tally of the match to give UNE the lead as they would never look back. The junior was able to time a run perfectly on a through ball from Taylor Littlefield (Sanford, Maine) that split the Endicott defense and found Dickerson who was able to control the ball after one touch and put a shot on goal to beat Donnelly and give the visitors the 1-0 lead. The goal was Dickerson's second of the season as was Littlefield's assist.
The Gulls would dominate possession and scoring chances for the rest of the half but could not find a way to beat Robinson. In the first half, the Gulls were led offensively by LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) and Paige Marinelli (Burlington, Conn.) as the juniors would combine for seven shots, six of which were on goal. Marinelli's best look in the first came in the 11st minute as she put a low, hard shot on goal that Robinson had to make the save on while Card was able to put a shot on goal off of a Marinelli corner kick that Robinson made a sprawling save on.
The second half would see more of the first with Endicott again dominating possession and chances but struggling to score. The two teams would remain scoreless in the second half until the 75th minute when UNE would go up 2-0 in the match. Becca Murphy (Durham, N.H.) made a long run as the Gulls were pressing up offensively and got deep enough that Endicott keeper Katie Donnelly would have to leave her line to sprint and attempt to disrupt the shot. Murphy snapped a shot off that went under a diving Donnelly and just evaded the Endicott defenders to give Murphy her third goal of the season.
Endicott kept pushing the tempo to apply pressure and would be rewarded in the 80th minute as Marinelli would net her first of the season. Marinelli took a feed from senior Hannah Schneidenbach (Charlestown, R.I.) and timed her shot perfectly to put Endicott on the board and give Schneidenbach her first assist of the season.
With the score now 2-1 in favor of the visitors, Endicott would have one last chance in the 85th minute as LeeAnn Card nearly tied the score off of her opportunity. She was able to corral a loose ball just inside the box, make one move to her right and fire a rocket across the face of the goal that just missed the left post and sailed wide, leave the Gulls on the short end of a 2-1 decision.
With the loss, Endicott falls to 2-2-1 (0-1-0 CCC) while UNE remains undefeated at 4-0-0 (1-0-0 CCC). Endicott returns to action on Wednesday when they play host to the Blue of Wellesley at 7:00 p.m. at Endicott Stadium. UNE is now off until Tuesday when they travel to Waterville, Maine for a contest against in-state rival Colby at 4:00 p.m.
