March 11, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - The 12th-ranked Babson College Beavers outscored Endicott 9-2 in the second half, pushing the visitors to a come from behind win over the Gulls, 14-8, on Tuesday afternoon in Beverly, Massachusetts. The win improves Babson to 3-0 overall, while Endicott slips to 2-1.
Freshman Kellie Cunningham (Derry, N.H.) was not intimidated by the visitor's national touting as she quickly put the Gulls on the board just 51-seconds into the game. Cunningham would strike again just 24-seconds later as she took a feed from Annie Wilcox (Glen Mills, Pa.) and beat goaltender Sarah Macary (Woodbury, Conn.) to give the Blue and Green a two-goal cushion.
Senior Anita Martignetti (Winchester, Mass.) cut the Endicott lead in half less than a minute later as she weaved her way through the Gulls' defense to find the back of the net. Endicott answered right back as Valerie Feldman (Albany, N.Y.) struck on a free position shot to regain the two goal lead. Each squad was up to the challenge in the first as the Gulls and the Beavers traded tallies with Endicott taking a 6-5 lead into the intermission.
The Gulls, who held a decisive 10-2 advantage in draw controls in the first half, slowly saw their lead fall apart as Babson clamped down through the midfield. The Beavers scored five unanswered goals to start the second half, a hole the Gulls simply could not fly out of. The draw control category that Endicott dominated in the first quickly became its Achilles' heal, as the visitors won 11-of-12 in the second frame.
When the Gulls did have opportunities in the final 30-minutes, it was Sarah Macary that came up big for the Beavers. Macary turned in 12 saves, several coming on free position shots.
Babson's Anita Martignetti and Lindsay Bucci (Medford, Mass.) each notched four goals in the win. Teammates Kaitlyn Pettengill (Hopkington, Mass.) and Anna Collins (Winchester, Mass.) each found the back of the net three times for the road team. Jackie Godfrey (Franklin, Mass.) grabbed a game-high five draw controls in the win.
Endicott was led by Kellie Cunningham's five goals and two assists for a game-high seven points. Valerie Feldman had two goals while Alex Pearce (Underhill, Vt.) had a goal and a helper in the losing effort. Goalkeeper Molly Hamel (North Yarmouth, Maine) made 13 saves for the Blue and Green.
Babson will carry its No. 12 ranking into a contest with Eastern Connecticut on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. The Gulls get right back to work on Thursday as they travel to Connecticut College for a 4:00 p.m. face-off with the Camels.
