BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's soccer team hosted No.11 Gordon on Tuesday night for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup under the lights. The contest marked the celebration of six Endicott seniors as they honored them on Senior Day. The Blue and Green controlled most of the match but Gordon's freshman Grant Stevens (Trumbull, Conn.) was able to tally a late goal to lift the Fighting Scots over the Gulls 2-1. Endicott moves to 9-9, (4-5 CCC) while the Scots move to 17-1, (8-1 CCC).
The first half was controlled by the Blue and Green as they outshot the Fighting Scots 11-7. Early in the game junior Adbulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) had a big opportunity to get Endicott the early tally as he dodged two defenders and ripped a shot from the 15 but freshman goalkeeper Josh Spoonhour (Greencastle, Pa.) was able to come up with the save.
Ten minutes later Gordon worked in the final third to contest sophomore goalkeeper Austin Peluso (Farmington, Conn.) as junior Andrew Vandervoort (Memphis, Tenn.) created a two on one situation in Gulls territory and blasted a shot at goal but it just sailed wide.
Less than two minutes later freshman Edwin Demoya (Salem, Mass.) come running down the right side of the field in the offensive end breaking past two defenders, he got down to the corner and sent the ball up high to Al Khalifa who then was able to get a head on it to send it to the top left corner to take the 1-0 lead.
The Fighting Scots tried to answer back seven minutes later as junior Andy Guthrie (Beaver Falls, Pa.) ripped a shot to goal that was heading for the top shelf, but Peluso was able to reach up and punch the ball out of dangerous territory to keep the lead.
Three minutes later the Scots had a second try at goal as freshman Daniel Perez (Bedford, Mass.) took a corner kick that went towards the goal that Peluso was able to punch out, but it did not go far enough as freshman Colten Corey (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) quickly grabbed the rebound and found the back of the net to tie the game up 1-1.
In the final five minutes of the frame Corey attempted for another try as he sent a point-blank shot at goal but Peluso was able to make the impressive save to keep the game at a tie to enter halftime.
The Blue and Green came out with a vengeance ready to take over the second half as they outshot the nationally ranked Scots 10-8. At 55:39 Demoya had a huge chance to give Endicott the lead as he broke free through the defense and was one on one with Spoonhour on the left side, he went deep into the 18 and ripped a shot but it just sailed high and left.
12 minutes later the Scots took the lead after an impressive play made by the Gordon offense. Guthrie stepped up to take a free kick at the 35, he sent to shot at Peluso that was almost out of reach but he was able to get his fingertips on it as it hit the cross bar and bounced back into play. Stevens then took advantage of the opportunity to blasted the ball into the back of the net.
Al Khalifa tried to answer back three minutes later as he sent a perfect corner kick shot to the top shelf but Spoonhour was able to come in and make the stop to keep the lead. In the final minutes the Blue and Green had great chances from senior Bobby Durben (Stow, Mass.) and Demoya but they just could not finish in the final third as they took the 1-2 loss.
Overall Endicott played their hearts out but just came up short, they worked hard and controlled the tempo of the entire 90 minutes of play. Seniors Ryan D'Amico (Marlborough, Conn.), Alex Elia (Somers, Conn.), James Mercer (South Hadley, Mass.) Zach Mullane (Panama City, Fla.), Brett Longobucco (Torrington, Conn.) and Durben all saw action tonight and have a lot of be proud of in their four years in a Gulls uniform.
Endicott has now finished the regular season and will wait to see where they stand in the seeding's for the conference tournament which will start Saturday November 2nd.
