BIDDEFORD, Maine — The Endicott women's soccer team fell short, 2-1, against the University of New England to close out its Conference of New England (CNE) regular season campaign on Tuesday evening at Barbara J. Hazard Field.
The hosts struck first with a goal in just the eighth minute off of a corner set-piece play.
The Gulls responded with three straight shots in the ensuing eight minutes of play but were unable to find the equalizer.
In the 31st minute, the Nor'Easters hit the Gulls on the counter attack, doubling their advantage.
The Blue and Green ended up outshooting UNE 7-4 in the first half but entered the halftime break two goals down.
Both teams battled at the start of the second half, but neither was able to gain solid control of the match.
Endicott halved the deficit with just over 10 minutes remaining. Morgan Hubert (Southington, Conn.) ignited the attack. The senior dribbled between two defenders and played Grace Jewett (Millis, Mass.) into space. Jewett found Gabrielle Klindtworth (Guilderland, N.Y.) at the front-post, as she beat the keeper to the ball and slotted the chance into the bottom right corner to make the score 2-1.
The Gulls had one final chance to knot the game up. Madeline Barbieri (Cranston, R.I.) found the ball at the top of the box, cut inside to her left and fired a cross that couldn't quite find a Gulls foot at the back post.
The hosts kept the Gulls at bay in the final moments, and the score remained 2-1 until the final buzzer sounded.
Endicott goalkeeper Rosalina Caliri (East Greenwich, R.I.) recorded 3 saves in the match as she finished the regular season with a record of 5-3-2.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Despite the loss, the Gulls still hold a lead in the all-time series, 18-14-2.
- Both Endicott and UNE will play in the CNE Tournament, which starts on Saturday, November 2.
- The Gulls will likely play as the five seed in the tournament.
- Klindtworth's goal was her fourth of the season (career-high; T-1st on team).
- Riley Rischitelli (North Brookfield, Mass.) was a catalyst on offense. She recorded a team-high five shots (two on net) in her 74 minutes of play.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (9-5-4, 5-2-2 CNE) gets set to play in the first round of the CNE Tournament this Saturday. UNE (13-5-1, 6-2-1 CNE) will likely receive a bye and advance to the semifinal round, which sets them up for a Tuesday contest.
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(Photo Credit - Jonah Bean '28)
