Nov. 12, 2006
SALEM, MA - The Gulls will raise another banner to the rafters of MacDonald Gym as the Endicott College field hockey team captured the 2006 ECAC New England Championship with a 2-1 overtime win over Wheaton College. Due to heavy rains, the game was moved to Salem State's Alumni Field which has a synthetic grass surface.
Ashley Meunier (Hartland, VT/Kimball Union) scored the game winner just over two minutes into overtime as she redirected a pass from Caitlin Murray (Templeton, MA/Gardner) past Lyons goalie Mary Catherine Boll (Columbus, IN), giving EC its first ECAC title in five consectutive trips to the tournament.
The Gulls got on the board first when Lindsay Fallon (Southampton, NY/Southampton) received a mid-field clear off a Wheaton corner. She took advantage of the resulting two-on- one break away and found the back of the net when Wheaton's defender dropped off to cover the pass. In spite of that play, the first half was very even with neither team dominating possession.
The score remained 1-0 at the half, but Wheaton came out aggressively in the second half. The Lyons had a chance to tie the game when Shea Clarke (Bellingham, MA) was awarded a penalty stroke. Clarke could not convert however as Gulls goalkeeper Erin Curry (Hampstead, NH/Gould Academy) made a diving save to preserve the 1-0 lead. Alex Block (Saratoga, CA) scored the equalizer just under ten minutes later as she knocked the ball past a crowd of EC defenders and into the net.
After playing to a 1-1 tie in regulation the game went to overtime, giving Meunier a chance to play the hero scoring the goal in sudden victory and giving EC the title. Following the game the ECAC presented awards to both Wheaton and Endicott. Curry was awarded Most Outstanding Player for her efforts between the pipes. She made four saves, including the penalty stroke, to earn the win.
The two teams met once in the regular season with Wheaton taking a 2-1 victory in Norton, MA, but EC evened up the season series with its ECAC win. The Lyons wrap up their season at 14-8 while the Gulls finish up 16-5 as the 2006 ECAC New England Champions.
