BEVERLY, Mass. -- Endicott women's soccer ended its 2012 season on a winning note, capturing the 2012 ECAC Division III New England Championship. The Gulls upset both the first and second ranked teams in the tournament, outscoring their opponents 7-1 over the three games and winning the team's first postseason championship since 2009.
The 2012 Gulls recorded a record of 14-5-4, and were undefeated in their final eight games of the season. After falling in their first conference match against Roger Williams and playing to a draw at Eastern Nazarene, Endicott also won their final seven conference games, six of them by way of a shutout.
The Gulls entered the CCC tournament as the third seed after posting a 7-1-1 conference record. Endicott did not score or concede a goal in their CCC tournament run, as they played to two scoreless ties and went to penalty kicks in both of their games. They advanced on free kicks in their home quarterfinal match against Wentworth before being eliminated by eventual conference champions Roger Williams in the semi-final round, marking the first time in 11 years that the Gulls failed to reach the CCC championship game.
Defense was the key to Endicott's success this year, as they consistently limited their opponent's attempts on goal and outscored their opponents 44-12 (0.5 team goals against average). Four of Endicott's five losses were by one goal margins.
The Gull's back-line was led by senior and two-time CCC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Peters (Salem, N.H.), who also scored her first two career goals this year. The Gulls kept 12 total clean sheets this season, 11 of them by sophomore goalie Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.), whose goals against average of 0.35 put her among the top ten in NCAA's national Division III rankings.
Offensively, Endicott was led by seniors Vanessa Caruccio (Winthrop, Mass.) and Chelsea Garlock (Meriden, Conn.), who were both named to the All-CCC Teams. Caruccio, a First Team nod, scored seven goals and three assists to lead the team with 17 points, while Garlock notched six goals and an assist and was selected to the CCC Second Team.
She was joined by senior Christine Silva (Stoneham, Mass.), a versatile player who patrolled in both defense and midfield for the Gulls and scored a thrilling overtime game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Curry. Fellow senior Lauren Todd (Newfields, N.H.) earned All-CCC Honorable Mention status for her work on defense.
Endicott said goodbye to seven seniors this year, all of them key parts of the Gull's recent success. Garlock, Caruccio, Silva, Peters, Todd, Micaela Hogan (Salisbury, Mass.) and Christina Vellucci (Saugus, Mass.) all played their last games as members of the Blue and Green.
The Gulls are well suited to continue their success, as they had a tremendous class of first year players step up this year and contribute, including Leeann Card (Paxton, Mass.), Becca Gustine (East Hampton, Conn.), Madison McKinely (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Paige Marinelli (Burlington, Conn.), who combined for twelve goals and five assists.
