March 4, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - A 10-2 halftime cushion proved to be just enough as Endicott College held off a late Keene State comeback attempt, downing the Owls, 13-10, in each team's season-opener on Wednesday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. Endicott's Sara Gunter (Kennebunk, Maine) scored five goals, including a perfect 4-of-4 in free position attempts, in the victory.
The Blue and Green opened the game by quickly notching four goals in just 7:05 to take a commanding early lead. Keene State responded with a Tessa Shea (Bow, N.H.) tally to make it 4-1, only to have Endicott rattle off five unanswered to pad its lead to 9-1. The Blue and Green would carry a 10-2 lead into the intermission.
It appeared the Gulls would easily coast to a season-opening win; however Keene State had other plans. The Owls, who were outshot 28-7 in the opening half, scored on back-to-back strikes from Dene Tully (Peabody, Mass.) and Caitlyn Corace (Mahopac, N.Y.) to slice into the Gulls' lead. Endicott responded with three goals of its own, two by Gunter and a top-shelf score by Valerie Feldman (Albany, N.Y.), quickly quieting the Keene sideline.
Once again, the Owls refused to go away as Keene State ended the game on a six goal rally. The guest's main enemy in the closing minutes was the clock itself, as time ran out on their comeback attempt.
Endicott's Sara Gunter ended the game with five goals while teammates Kate Colley (Wells, Maine), Alex Pearce (Underhill, Vt.) and Valerie Feldman each scored a pair of goals apiece. Brittany Kane (Scarborough, Maine) and Morgan DeShaw (Danville, N.H.) also had a goal in the win.
Keene State got three goals from Caitlyn Corace and a pair of goals from both Jamie Albert (Southington, Conn.) and Jill Kirk (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.). Emily Persano (Somers, Conn.), Dene Tully and Tessa Shea each had a goal for the Owls in the setback.
Endicott held a 39-25 advantage in shots and a 35-31 edge in groundballs. The visitors turned the ball over 32 times compared to Endicott's 26, and the Gulls were 5-of-13 in free position opportunities against the Owls 0-for-5 effort.
Endicott (1-0) returns to action on Saturday as the Gulls will head to Cambridge, Mass. to square-off with MIT. Keene State looks to rebound on March 10th when the Owls host Mount Holyoke at 4:30 p.m.
