WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Endicott women's soccer team fell short against top-seeded University of Hartford, 2-0, on Tuesday evening in the Conference of New England (CNE) semifinals at Alumni Field. 

The fifth-seeded Endicott defense was put on the back foot from the beginning against the best offense in the conference. However, Endicott looked threatening at times, controlling possession in the midfield, and passing around Hartford defenders looking to find the opener but they were limited to just one shot in the first half.

The Hawks outshot the Gulls, 6-1, in the first 45 minutes, but the game remained even with zeroes across the board as the halftime whistle sounded. 

In the 54th minute, the Hawks broke through after working a corner-kick opportunity. On the set piece attempt, the home team lobbed a beautiful kick into the center of the box, which was calmly headed in to claim the 1-0 lead.

The Blue and Green responded looking to halve the deficit quickly. Samantha Klimas (North Andover, Mass.) provided the first shot of the game for the Gulls. She found space at the top of the box and launched a shot on the net that was saved. 

Hartford added to its advantage in the 68th minute off another set-piece play after a foul near the sideline. The free-kick taker found an open runner who proceeded to cross the ball into the box. In the mess of a crowded box, a Hawk was the first to fire the ball into the net to give the hosts an insurance goal. 

Endicott found its best chance of the night in the 79th minute, when Morgan Hubert (Southington, Conn.) fed Michelle Donahue (Melrose, Mass.) at the top of the box for a one-timer, but Hartford's goalkeeper sprawled out to keep the shutout installed.

The Gulls were unable to muster anything further prior to the buzzer sounding, closing out their 2024 campaign.

Samantha MacCormack (Danvers, Mass.) played the full 90 in net for the Blue and Green and scooped up two saves in the loss.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Entering tonight, the all-time series between the Gulls and Hawks was knotted up at one apiece.
• After Gordon's win over UNE tonight in the other semifinal match, the Fighting Scots will represent the CNE in the NCAA Tournament (Hartford is ineligible for the tournament due to its Divisional switch in 2023).
• The Gulls have finished with 10+ wins in four of the last five seasons.
• Christina Stone (Glastonbury, Conn.) set a program record for the Hawks with her two assists tonight, giving her 21 on the season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Fifth-seeded Endicott (10-6-4) sees its 2024 season come to a close. Top seed Hartford (13-3-2) advances to the CNE Championship against Gordon on Saturday, November 9 at 1 PM.

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(Photo Credit - Jonah Bean '28)