May 5, 2007
WENHAM, MA - The third seeded Endicott college women's lacrosse team defended its Commonwealth Coast Conference title on Saturday afternoon as the Gulls upset the top seeded Gordon College Fighting Scots 13-12 in Wenham.
Gordon took an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Danielle Zorn (Mercer Island, WA/Mercer Island) and Amber Whalen (Colorado Springs, CO/Perry Hall). EC defender Katie Leighton (Saco, ME/Thortnton) got the Gulls on the board as she scored just over six minutes into the contest. Leighton's goal set the tone for the Blue and Green as they would trade off scoring streaks with Gordon for the remainder of the game.
Whalen would net a pair of goals to put the Fighting Scots up 4-2 but Molly Moss (Yarmouth, ME/North Yarmouth Academy) tied the game up for Endicott scoring a pair of goals just 49 seconds apart. Valerie Feldman (Albany, NY/Guilderland) gave the Gulls their first lead of the game when she scored on a free position shot 32-seconds later.
Whalen once again came to Gordon's rescue scoring the Fighting Scots next two goals to give GC a 6-5 lead with five minutes to play. Moss would then tie the game at six when she took a feed from Feldman and beat Gordon goalie Chyanne Wilson (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River). The Scots answered back taking a 7-6 lead into the half with a goal in the final seconds of the first frame.
Gordon scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 9-6 lead, its largest lead of the game, but Endicott responded with tighter defense and seven straight goals to go up 13-9 with ten minutes to play.
Emily Judd (Peabody, MA/Peabody) got things going for the Gulls with an unassisted goal at the 20:46 mark. Feldman and Alex Pearce (Underhill, VT/Kimball Union) followed up with goals. Then Feldman would score three straight goals before Sara Gunter (Kennebunk, ME/Kennebunk) capped off the scoring run at the 12 minute mark.
The Fighting Scots made a game of it scoring three goals in the final ten minutes, including two more from Whalen, but in the end Endicott was able to hold on and capture its second consecutive CCC title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth.
EC was led by Feldman who scored a team high five goals and dished out a pair of assists. Moss and Pearce had three goals and two goals respectively while Judd and Leighton each added single goals to the victory.
Erin Curry (Hampstead, NH/Gould Academy) and Molly Hamel (North Yarmouth, ME/Greely) split time between the pipes and combined to make nine saves to lead the Gulls to the upset.
The Blue and Green ended Gordon's ten game win streak after causing 12 turnovers, while committing just five of their own. The Gulls topped the two teams that handed them conference losses, Curry and Gordon, in capturing the CCC title.
Endicott finishes the season at 13-5 and now will await news from the NCAA of its first round opponent. Selections and tournament pairings will be made late Sunday. Be sure to stay tuned to ecgulls.com for all updates.
