Posted: Nov 04, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott’s \#Allyson Bellemore\# (Manchester, N.H.) scored in the 72nd minute to break a scoreless tie, as the Gulls edged North Shore rival Gordon College, 1-0, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals on Wednesday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The victory extends a pair of streaks for the Gulls, as Endicott has now held its opposition scoreless for a nation-leading 990 minutes and the Blue and Green will appear in the conference finals for a ninth-consecutive season.
A slow moving first half only yielded a combined eight shots with just two of the bids landing on goal. Gordon had a golden opportunity 22 minutes into the opening frame when Caitlin Nedde (Colchester, Vt.) dribbled past two defenders and sent a shot labeled for the far right corner. Nedde’s shot, however, was pushed just right and caromed off the post. Endicott goalkeeper \#Amy Meuse\# (Saugus, Mass.) and Gordon netminder Abby Ytzen (Des Moines, Iowa) each made a save in the opening 45:00 minutes to help send the game into the intermission gridlocked at 0-0.
The Gulls finally broke the ice in the 72nd minute as freshman \#Christine Silva\# (Stoneham, Mass.) sent a cross into the box from the left side where senior \#Allyson Bellemore\# connected with a diving header, directing the ball into the lower-left corner past a sprawling Ytzen. The goal was the sixth of the season for Bellemore and was Silva’s third assist of 2009.
The one goal lead proved to be enough as Endicott’s stingy defense locked down its end of the field to secure the 1-0 victory. The Fighting Scots had one final chance in the closing minute when a loose-ball off a free kick landed in the Endicott box; however \#Amy Meuse\# came off her line and corralled the bouncing ball away from two Gordon forwards.
Endicott held a 14-7 shots advantage in the one-goal win. Abby Ytzen finished the day with four saves while Endicott’s Meuse made three stops in the shutout.
Endicott (16-4) will play host to Western New England College on Saturday afternoon in the TCCC Championship game in Beverly, Mass. The Golden Bears defeated Wentworth by the score of 2-0 to advance to the conference finals. Gordon (10-9-1) will await word on an ECAC bid next week.
