BEVERLY, Mass.- Competing against each other for the first time since 1998, the No. 2 seed Endicott women's soccer team officially tied No. 7 Emerson 1-1 through two overtime periods but came up short in penalty kicks by a 4-2 margin. The Gulls now bow out of the ECAC DIII New England tournament while the Lions advance to the semifinal round to take on the winner of No. 6 Curry and No. 3 Elms.
The scoring got underway on Veteran's Day at Hempstead Stadium when Endicott senior Paige Marinelli (Burlington, Conn.) took a shot from the left wing from roughly 20 yards out. Her shot, with her right foot, passed over the outstretched arm of the diving Emerson keeper Melanie Escobar (Torrington, Conn.) to give the hosts the early advantage. The Gulls would hold onto the 1-0 lead through the remainder of the first half while holding the edge in shots 5-4.
Freshman Jess Frost would tie the game in the 65th minute as her shot from the left wing arced over Endicott keeper Caroline Armbruster (Stowe, Vt.) to knot the match at 1-1. The goal was the freshman's ninth of the season as she has now accumulated 22 points in her rookie campaign. That would prove to be all the scoring the two teams could produce in the second half as Emerson held a 7-1 edge in shots in the frame.
The two squads would advance to play two overtime periods of scoreless play that saw both defenses step up and thwart any mounting attacks. After 110 minutes of play, the match remained tied 1-1 and would advance to penalty kicks to decide who would move on to the semifinals. The visiting Lions were able to clinch after converting on four of five chances to just two of four for Endicott and now move on to play the winner of Curry and Elms.
BEYOND THE BOX
- Armbruster made six saves in the tie, her sixth performance with five or more saves. She ends the season with an 8-4-3 record that included five shutouts and a goals against average of 0.85.
- The goal was Marinelli's fifth of the season as she added five assists in her senior campaign. The forward finishes her season with 15 points, a career best year.
- Endicott is now 4-1-1 all-time against Emerson in a series that dates back all the way to 1995 when Endicott first joined the NCAA Division III.
FOR THE FOES
- Emerson now boasts four players that have notched nine or more goals on the season after Frost joined Alexandra Dezenzo (Randolph, N.J.), Paige Haley and Tayllar Righini (Salem, N.H.) with her ninth.
- Keeper Melanie Escobar moved to 6-6-2 on the season after making two saves in the tie.
- Frost and Dezenzo were the only two Lions to record multiple shots on the evening.
WHAT'S NEXT
Emerson advances to the ECAC DIII Women's Soccer Semifinals to face the winner of Curry and Elms, another ECAC Quarterfinal match that went into overtime. At the time of this posting, the match was tied 1-1 in the first overtime. Endicott's season comes to an end with a 9-8-3 record overall that included a CCC Semifinal appearance and an ECAC DIII New England Quarterfinal appearance.
