Posted: Nov 06, 2010
Boxscore
Bristol, R.I. – The Endicott women's soccer team fell just short in defending its The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) championship, losing to host Roger Williams University 4-2 in penalty kicks after both teams finished 110 minutes level at 2-2.
Bristol, R.I. – The Endicott women's soccer team fell just short in defending its The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) championship, losing to host Roger Williams University 4-2 in penalty kicks after both teams finished 110 minutes level at 2-2.
The Hawks took an early lead in the first half and entered the break ahead by one. Endicott rallied for a pair of goals in a five minute span midway through the second half to take the lead. RWU responded with an equalizer in the 80th minute. Neither team could find the winner through two overtime periods, forcing penalty kicks to decide the championship.
The Gulls finish the regular season with a 15-5-2 overall.
Midway through the first half, Devon Leighton (Scarborough, Maine) launched an effort from 12 yards which clattered against the right post. The ball fell to Noelle Marston (Kingston, Mass.), who sent the rebound on net from close range. Endicott keeper \#Natalie Wyrsch\# (Dover, N.H.) made a sensational save to keep the game scoreless.
The hosts would snatch the lead with exactly three minutes left in the first half. Junior Laurin Pendleton (Southwick, Mass.) found freshman Hannah Noel (Adams, Mass.) in the box. Noel cut away from her defender and released a shot with the outside of her right foot. The ball deflected off the post and into the back of the net, giving the Hawks a 1-0 advantage at the break.
The second half started and the balance of play remained even despite RWU's advantage in the scoreline.
The Gulls equalized with 19:55 remaining in regulation. Junior forward \#Colleen Pepin\# (Fairhaven, Mass.) bore down on goal with only RWU goalkeeper Kelsey McGee (Kings Park, N.Y.) to beat. Although McGee made the save off of Pepin's effort, the ball fell kindly for \#Kayla Corbett\# (Danvers, Mass.), who made no mistake in burying the rebound from six yards to level the score.
Endicott then turned the game on its head by taking the lead. Pepin, after gaining possession at the top of the Roger Williams box, launched a left-footed curler that went over McGee's head and into the net with 14:27 left. In just over five minutes, Endicott went from trailing by one to leading by one.
RWU managed to equalize with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Alexa Maher (Hopewell, N.J.) got the ball 18 yards out. She took two steps before firing a left-footed rocket into the top left-hand corner of the net to deadlock the contest at two goals apiece.
While both teams had chances to win it in the first of two sudden-death overtimes, the majority of the action didn't occur until the final minute of the second extra period. With 33 seconds left, Pepin broke in on McGee and released a low shot that the RWU keeper did well to save.
With less than 10 ticks remaining, Katie Fusaro (Hopkinton, Mass.) raced down the other end of the pitch and fired an angled drive with the chance of winning the contest for the Hawks. Her shot was denied by the crossbar, forcing penalty kicks to decide the outcome.
After a short break, each team picked five players to take the penalties. Endicott's \#Caitlin Peters\# (Salem, N.H.) stepped up to take the first kick, which McGee saved. Leighton, the first RWU penalty taker, gave the Hawks the 1-0 advantage after sending a shot to the left of Wyrsch.
\#Victoria Hunt\# (Cumberland, R.I.) then scored for Endicott before Maddy Howard (Medfield, Mass.) placed her kick into the side-netting to give the Hawks a 2-1 advantage.
\#Chelsea Garlock\# (Meriden, Conn.) took the third kick and had her bid saved by McGee. Maher converted moments later to make it 3-1 RWU.
\#Taylor Ocko\# (Danvers, Mass.) placed her kick past McGee, leaving Pendleton with the potentially game-winning kick. Pendleton stepped up and made no mistake, hammering her effort past the diving Wyrsch and into the bottom-left corner to punch the Hawks' ticket to the NCAA Tournament via the automatic bid.
McGee made ten saves in earning the win, while Wyrsch stopped eight shots in the loss.
