BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott senior midfielder Sharlotte Pernice (West Springfield, Mass.) scored in the 85th minute to lift the Gulls past Union (N.Y.), 1-0, on Friday evening at Hempstead Stadium.
Catherine Elkas (Holden, Mass.) initiated the scoring opportunity for Pernice when she corralled a through ball from Mary Verneris (Hamden, Conn.) down the left wing, created some space and later crossed a bouncing pass through the center of the box.
Pernice then did the rest as she perfectly timed the ball's hop off the turf and tucked a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net (84:51) past the outstretched dive of goalkeeper Kelsey Hartsoe (Wallingford, Conn.) for her first tally of the season.
Despite the late goal, Hartsoe stood out in the contest as the senior goalkeeper finished with a game-high seven saves, which included multiple stops that came on one-on-one situations.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, Kayla Wentworth (Taunton, Mass.) made five saves to record her first shutout in an Endicott uniform.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott evened up the all-time series against Union in today's win (2-2).
- The Gulls are 3-2 in their last five season openers.
- Pernice registered her eighth career game-winning goal today, which also ranks tied for ninth place in program history.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (1-0) hosts Skidmore tomorrow in non-conference action at 2 PM. Union (0-1) visits Gordon tomorrow at 2 PM.
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(Photo credit - David Le '10)