BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott women's lacrosse team claimed its second straight Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title with a thrilling 11-9 victory over No. 2 Roger Williams.
Both teams battled from the start in a game that saw eight ties and nine lead changes throughout. The eventual game-winner came from Alex Fitzgerald (Guilford, Conn.) with 7:04 left in the second and then Meghan Dutchyshyn (Cheshire, Conn.) added the insurance tally at the 1:06 mark to secure the victory.
Leading the Gulls offensively were Dutchyshyn and Jackie Healy (Northborough, Mass.), with five and two goals respectively. Also scoring for Endicott were Gabriella Prisco (West Haven, Conn.), Megan Jarvis (Auburn, N.H.), and Jennifer Lacroix (Wrentham, Mass.).
Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) improved to 14-2 on the season and came up with several key stops throughout the contest. She finished the night with eight saves.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is 22-4 in the all-time series against the Hawks.
- Notching assists on the night were Fitzgerald and Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.).
- This is the Gulls' second straight CCC title and 11th conference title in program history.
- The Endicott defense came up with several key stops in the closing minutes of the game to lock up the win. The Hawks had two scoring attempts late in the contest, but Rino was able to come up with a save at the 3:30 mark to keep the Gulls ahead. With less than two minutes remaining, Allie Lawlor (York, Maine) also caused a turnover and Olivia Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) picked up the ground ball that eventually led to Dutchyshyn's all-important insurance goal at 1:06.
FOR THE FOES
- Lydia Nelson (Center Moriches, N.Y.) recorded nine stops in the loss (12-4).
- Devon Sarazin (Falmouth, Maine) led the Hawks with four goals and two assists.
- Roger Williams also received goals from Carly Martin (Scituate, Mass.), Maeve Gillis (Duxbury, Mass.), Kaelin Hogan (Bethel, Conn.), and Emily Stoeppel (Brookfield, Conn.).
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (14-3) earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament with the win and will find out its first-round opponent on Sunday. Roger Williams (13-4) sees its season come to a close with the loss.
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(Photo Credit - Nick Grace)
