BEVERLY, Mass.- After Wednesday night's women's soccer match-up between the Vikings of Salem State and the Gulls of Endicott, the battle for the North Shore Cup is no closer to being settled with the two teams playing to a 1-1 draw in two overtime periods. The Gulls see their record move to 0-2-1 while the Vikings complete their first contest with a record of 0-0-1.
The two teams, located across the bay from each other, knew they were in for a physical game before they even took to the pitch. Salem State was entering their first match of the year after coming off of a 10-6-2 season that saw them advance to the MASCAC semifinals while Endicott entered the match in search of their first win in the 2013 campaign.
A physical fight is exactly what both teams put forth on Wednesday night. The two squads struggled to put forth any offensive output early as the score was tied at half, 0-0. Both keepers proved to be on their "A" game as they kept the opposition for tallying any goals for the majority of the game. Salem State collected the first two shots of the game as Leah Wood (Loveland, Ohio) and Casey Connolly (Nahant, Mass.) forced Endicott keeper Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) to make plays that kept the Gulls in the game. In particular, Connolly's low shot in the box forced Donnelly to make a sprawling save and deflect the ball from the corner.
Hannah Schneidenbach (Charlestown, R.I.) registered the first shot for the Gulls in the 24th minute as she took a shot that sailed wide right. Keeping pressure in the Vikings' end, Madison Missinne (Ridgefield, Conn.) blasted a shot from outside the box that played a little funny in the air and forced Salem keeper Rachel Ledbetter (Dracut, Mass.) to bobble the shot a bit before falling on it for the save. Both teams would keep action primarily between the 20's as the half came to a close. By the half, Salem State had already racked up seven of their 20 fouls compared to four of Endicott's seven.
The second half started off with the same tenacity and fire on defense that the first half possessed as both teams played another 37 minutes of scoreless ball that included seven shots and two yellow cards. Two of Endicott's shots by Missinne and Paige Marinelli (Burlington, Conn.) came from outside the box and forced Ledbetter to make the save on the fly. Endicott's first quality scoring chance came in the 66th minute when Marinelli blasted a shot in the box that was blocked before following it up with another shot that forced the keeper to deflect the ball out of bounds for a corner.
Sophomore Audrey Parolin (Cumberland, Maine) came on strong late for the Gulls and provided scoring opportunities that weren't available before. Her shot in the 69th minute forced Ledbetter to make another one of her game high eight saves. Parolin again came close to scoring, this time in the 76th minute. The ball caromed to her off of a defensive block and she tried to lob the ball on the fly over the keeper's head but it floated just high over the cross bar.
The game remained in a stalemate until the 83rd minute which saw Sarah Person (Holden, Mass.) rip a sharp cross into the box that created trouble for the Vikings. The cross deflected off the keeper's hands and a defender's head before it found the head of a leaping Schneidenbach who buried it in the net for her first tally of the young season. The Gulls seemingly had momentum on their side with just over six minutes remaining but a quick outlet for Salem State proved otherwise for the Vikings.
With just over three minutes remaining, Amy Griffith (Middleton, Mass.) took a long feed from Devon Howard (Hanson, Mass.) and slipped her shot past a diving Donnelly to knot the score at 1-1. The goal and assist were the first for both players on the 2013 season.
Endicott would have the last shot of regulation as LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) put her shot high over the cross before the period came to a close.
Just about two minutes into the first overtime period, Shelby McLenithan (Bennington, Vt.) took possession of the ball deep in the Salem State box and rifled off a shot on net. The ball somehow found the legs of a defender and was cleared immediately. Keeping pressure on, Endicott was awarded their fifth of seven corners on the night and Ashley Mueskes (Georgetown, Mass.) found Hannah Schneidenbach streaking towards net but Ledbetter was again up to the task and made another save to thwart the Endicott attack. The first overtime period would remain locked in a 1-1 tie.
The second period saw Salem State possess the last quality scoring chance as Griffith came looking for her second goal of the night. The sophomore found the ball on her feet at the edge of the box and was able to snap off a left-footed shot that forced Donnelly to make her third and final save of the night. Time would expire with the teams coming out with a 1-1 draw.
Endicott out-shot Salem State 16-5 and had seven corners to zero for the visitors. Ledbetter was huge for the Vikings and registered eight saves to Donnelly's three. The Gulls are off until Saturday when they travel to Keene State for a 1 p.m. tilt. The Vikings are also off until Saturday when they host WPI at 3 p.m.
