BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey and baseball teams were on hand Saturday afternoon for a ceremony dedicating the renovation of Endicott's North Field on Homecoming afternon. The Gulls then went out and won the first game on the new turf surface, beating the University of New England 3-1 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) field hockey play.
The Gulls improve to 7-3 and earn a crucial win between two favorites of the CCC, where they now have a 3-0 mark. UNE sees their record dip below .500 at 4-5, and suffer their first conference defeat (2-1).
Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) scored twice for the Blue and Green, including North Field's first goal, which gave the Gulls a 1-0 lead, and the game-winner, which came with just under three minutes remaining in the contest.
Hannah Thornberg (Oakland, Maine) continued her blistering start to the season, adding an unassisted insurance goal with half a minute to play. Thornberg now has 12 goals to lead the club and has tallied a goal or more in eight of the Gull's ten games this season while moving into second all-time in Endicott's scoring leaders.
Though Endicott controlled play for much of the first half, outshooting UNE 11-5 before the break, it took them twenty minutes to find the back of the cage. A blistering shot from defender Alyssa Clark (Gorham, Maine) was turned aside, but the ball fell in the circle where sophomore Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Connecticut) found Sawchuck to collect her second assist of the season.
UNE junior Hayley LaPointe (Topsham, Maine) tied the game twelve minutes after halftime when she blasted a rebound past Gulls senior Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.) for her seventh goal of the year.
As the minutes wound down, the Gulls continued to press for the winner, registering 13 shots in the second half and earning 12 penalty corners. It was on one of these opportunities, delivered by Thornberg, that Sawchuck fired a shot that came off the inside of the post and found the top of the cage for her sixth goal of the season.
Sawchuck nearly gave the Gulls a lead twice in a matter of seconds with 22 minutes remaining in the first half, but two consecutive shots were blocked by UNE goalkeeper Kaitlyn Warren (Boscawen, N.H.).
Both goalkeepers were busy throughout the game, particularly Warren, who made eight stops to keep the visitors within striking distance. Teixeira came up with four saves while earning the victory.
Endicott improves their home record to 3-1 on the year and has now won eight of the last eleven matchups between the two programs.
Endicott will have the next week to regroup before hosting Nichols next Saturday afternoon in another CCC matchup. That game is slated for 1:00 pm on North Field.
UNE will face an out of conference test next, returning home to welcome Southern Maine on Thursday at 7:00 pm.
