March 15, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College poured in five goals in the first quarter and never looked back, as the 16th-ranked Gulls cruised past Babson College, 13-5, in a non-conference match-up on a frigid Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Massachusetts. With the win, Endicott moves to 5-0 (1-0 TCCC) while the Beavers slip to 0-4 (0-0 Pilgrim).
The Commonwealth Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, Mass.) had a hand in Endicott's first two goals, as he beat freshman netminder Mike Saucier (Nashua, N.H.) and then assisted on a Brandon Dube (Danvers, Mass.) tally to put the hosts up, 2-0.
Andrew Harding (Niskayuna, N.Y.) put the Gulls up three as he dodged his way to the cage and ripped a turnaround shot off-hip. Harding would strike again following a goal from John Curtis (Chelmsford, Mass.), as Endicott extended its lead to five after one.
In the second, Nick Cosco (Londonderry, N.H.) took a feed from Brad Lipkvich (Madison, Conn.) and buried a seed from 15-yards out, adding extra cushion to the EC advantage. Minutes later, O'Reilly notched his third point of the game as Lipkvich found the midfielder at the top of the box for a bomb from 60-feet. Babson's Jason Wellemeyer (Pembroke, Mass.) responded with the Beavers' first strike of the day off a look from Matt Harrington (Hanover, Mass.). That would prove to be the visitors only goal of the half, as Endicott led 7-1 at the intermission.
Mike Saucer kept it a six-goal game off the face-off to start the second half as the Babson keeper made a point-blank save on the doorstep, denying Eddie O'Reilly of his third goal of the afternoon. Despite a 7-1 Endicott lead, Saucer stood tall on several occasions, answering the bell when called upon. The Gulls' offense was able to notch five goals in the third quarter, two on the man-up, to carry a 12-3 lead into the fourth.
Several fresh faces appeared for Endicott in quarter number four, and Babson took advantage of the Gulls' youth. The Beavers outshot Endicott, 19-4, in the final 15-minutes and capitalized on 14 fourth quarter Endicott turnovers. Jason Wellemeyer made the Gulls pay as he found the back of the net twice in the fourth, helping the visitors outscore Endicott 2-1 in the final frame. Shane Gallagher (Lowell, Mass.), who replaced Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.) to begin the fourth period, faced 19 shots and made eight saves in his 15-minutes of net time.
Endicott was led by Nick Cosco's two goals and four assists for a game-high six points. Eddie O'Reilly finished the day with three goals and two helpers, while Brandon Dube had a goal and three assists in the win. David Scarfo (Billerica, Mass.) notched two goals for the hosts, while Andrew Harding had three tallies for the Blue and Green.
Babson was paced by Jason Wellemeyer's game-high four goals. Bryan Wilbur (Hingham, Mass.) had three assists and Mike Lydon (Norfolk, Mass.) notched the other tally for the Beavers. Mike Saucier finished the afternoon with 10 saves in the losing effort.
Endicott (5-0, 1-0 TCCC) will once again stay out of conference play as they take the field on Tuesday against Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. The Beavers' six-game road trip continues on Tuesday as well, as Babson travels to New Jersey to square-off with Montclair State.
