BEVERLY, Mass. ­– Sophomore attack Erin McCarthy (Old Lyme, Conn.) recorded a second half hat trick, but it wasn't enough as the Endicott women's lacrosse team dropped a 14-8 decision to visiting Babson College Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium in the Gulls' final non-conference action of the regular season.

The Beavers jumped out to a 9-0 start as junior midfielder Francesca Giova (Easton, Mass.) scored the second of her tied-for-game-high three goals on the day with 15:26 on the clock in the first half.

The Gulls got on the scoreboard with 8:34 to play in the first half as freshman midfielder Jackie Neilsen (Agawam, Mass.) found the back of the net on a feed from senior attack Isabelle Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) to break up the shutout.

Neilsen then assisted on junior midfielder Emily Whitney's (Rye, N.H.) first of two goals on the afternoon with a strike at the 5:20 mark.

Babson rounded out the scoring in the first half with junior attack Emily Bresnahan's (Wenham, Mass.) second of three goals and game-high four point effort on a man-up goal at 3:21, as the Beavers took a 10-2 lead into the break.

The Gulls fought back in the second half, scoring three straight to begin the final 30 minutes of play as McCarthy celebrated back-to-back goals at 29:17 and 27:08 to cut the deficit to 10-4.

Freshman midfielder Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.) got in on the action with her fourth tally of the season (unassisted) as Endicott trailed, 10-5, with 23:13 remaining in the game for the closest they would get the rest of the way.

The Gulls outscored Babson, 6-4, in the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Beavers won their season-high third game in a row and beat Endicott for the first time in the last three meetings.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Babson out-shot the Gulls, 22-18, but Endicott held the advantage in the second half (14-9).
• Endicott was 3-of-4 on free-position shots as McCarthy had two of those FPS goals.
• McCarthy is 6-of-8 on free-position shots (6 FPG) in the past three games combined.
• Junior goalie Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) made a game-high seven saves as she dropped to 1-7 on the season.
• McCarthy scooped up a game-high four ground balls for the Gulls, but Babson had 21 to Endicott's 18.
• McCarthy netted three goals in the second half for the second time this season (3/19 at USM).
• Whitney has scored at least two goals apiece in the past three games.
• Sophomore attack Jess Glenn (Underhill, Vt.) scored her first career free-position goal.
• Neilsen registered her first career assist, while Sipperly tallied her first assist of the season and her first since she had nine her freshman season.
• Campbell won a team-high three draw controls as the two squads were even at 12 apiece.

FOR THE FOES

• The Beavers ended their five-game road trip with a 3-2 record.
• Bresnahan tallied her second hat trick of the season and had a game-high four points (3g, 1 a), in addition to causing a game-high three turnovers. Four points in a single game is tied for a season-high for the Wenham, Mass. native - a feat she has accomplished three times thus far.
• Junior midfielder Francesca Giova (Easton, Mass.) also recorded a hat trick.
• Sophomore attack Charlotte O'Halloran (Middletown, R.I.) added a game-high three assists.
• Junior goalie Stevie Burger (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) registered two saves as she earned her fourth win of the season (4-2).
• Sophomore midfielder Julia Harrigan (Portsmouth, R.I.) won a game-high five draw controls.
• Junior defender Delaney Carroll (Acton, Mass.) scooped up a team-high three ground balls.
• Babson scored twice on extra-man opportunities.

NOTES

• The Gulls are 3-9 all-time and 2-4 at home against Babson dating back prior to the 2004 season.
•  Endicott had won the past two meetings, including the most recent meeting before today, 9-7, on March 19, 2015 in Babson Park, Mass.
• Endicott is 0-4 versus NEWMAC opponents in 2016 and 0-4 at home on the year.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-7, 0-0 CCC) welcomes Gordon College to Hempstead Stadium on Wednesday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. to open Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play, while Babson (4-2, 0-0 NEWMAC) hosts Wesleyan on March 30 at 7:00 p.m. in non-conference action. 

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