BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott women's lacrosse team opened the 2017 season with a commanding 17-6 win over visiting Wheaton College (Mass.) Wednesday night in non-conference action at Hempstead Stadium.

The Gulls struck first as freshman attack Meghan Dutchyshyn (Cheshire, Conn.) broke the seal on the new season on a feed from senior midfielder Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) with 27:34 remaining in the first half.

Wheaton knotted the score at one apiece minutes later on senior midfielder Angela Mallis'  (Falmouth, Maine) strike from senior attack Giovanna Bishop (Portland, Ore.) before Endicott rattled off seven consecutive tallies to go up 8-1 with 5:02 to play in the opening stanza.

Endicott took a 9-2 advantage into halftime and grew that edge to an 11-goal margin for its largest lead of the game, up 16-5 at the 13:21 mark on junior attack Jess Glenn's (Underhill, Vt.) free-position goal to earn the Gulls' first win in a season opener since the 2013-14 season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls are 1-2 in season opener under third-year head coach Morgan Maciewicz.
• Coach Maciewicz is 2-1 against Wheaton in her tenure.
• Senior goalkeeper Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) earned the win (1-0) as she allowed five goals and made three saves before giving way to sophomore Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) with 12:25 left in the game. Rino gave up one goal and made three saves.
• Whitney led the way with five points (two goals, three assists, for the Gulls.
• Senior attack Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) registered a hat trick in her return to the field after missing the entire 2016 season due to injury.
• Freshman midfielder Jennifer Lacroix (Wrentham, Mass.) and Dutchyshyn each recorded hat tricks and two assists apiece in their first career games.

FOR THE FOES

• Junior goalie Molly Witten (Bethesda, Md.) made two saves as she suffered the loss (0-1), and split time with junior goalie Galicia Rothe (Key Biscayne, Fla.), who made four saves.
• Senior midfielder Lydia Regan (Medford, Mass.) scooped up a game-high six ground balls and caused a game-high four turnovers.
• Freshman midfielder Molly Covarrubias (Framingham, Mass.) won a game-best five draw controls and led the Lyons with a pair of goals and two assists on the night.

NOTES

• Endicott is now 3-5 against Wheaton in the all-time series, as the Lyons won last season's meeting, 13-7, in the Gulls' home opener on March 5, 2016.
• The Gulls have won three of the past four meetings.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-0) goes on the road at Wellesley on Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m.

Wheaton (0-1) hosts Lasell in the Lyons' home opener on Saturday, March 4 at 2:00 p.m.  

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