Seahawks succumb in second half

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey team hosted Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent, Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon for homecoming. Endicott recorded three second half goals to lift to a 4-3 victory. Senior Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) tallied two in the contest while freshman Brittany Bushey (Pittsford, Vt.) scored the game winner. Endicott remains undefeated in the CCC improving to 9-1 (4-0 CCC) while the Seahawks fall to 7-3 (1-3 CCC).

Endicott will see action next on Wednesday, October 1, when it travels to Nichols for a CCC showdown at 7 p.m. The Seahawks will play next on Tuesday, September 30 when they travel across town to CCC foe Roger Williams for a 7 p.m. start.

The first half was a battle as Salve Regina just outshot the Blue and Green 8-7 while earning a three goal advantage by the end of the first 35 minutes of play.

Endicott took to the scoreboard first in the opening minutes after junior Ashleigh Allen (Glastonbury, Conn.) lifted a shot to goal that just landed outside the goal line, however junior Morgan Bresnahan (South Burlington, Vt.) was able to jump in and finish up the play to take the early 1-0 lead.

Endicott held the one goal lead until the 20 minute mark when Salve Regina made it a tie game. Freshman combo Brooke Tolley (Brookside, N.J.) and Erin McKenna (Exeter, N.H.) made a play to goal where McKenna fed Tolley the ball in front to sneak the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Cheka Ventura (Lawrence, Mass.).

The Seahawks were not finished and continued their scoring path as they took the lead at the 23 minute mark as junior Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) received a feed from junior Marissa Gagnon (Smithfield, R.I.) and tipped the ball into the back of the net.

With less than five minutes to go in the half the Seahawks recorded their third goal of the game after junior Julia Grover (Cotuit, Mass.) took a pass from Gagnon in front and blasted the ball into the back of the net to take the 3-1 edge heading into half time.

Being down by two goals to start the second half the Blue and Green were eager to redeem themselves by outshooting their opponent 13-4. Two minutes into the second half Sawchuck tallied her first goal of the game after receiving a crisp pass from senior Meghan Leary (Hampton Falls, N.H.) off a corner play and made it a one goal game.

After peppering the Seahawks defense for 24 minutes Sawchuck finally recorded the game tying goal after she made a few elimination moves in front of the goal and ripped a shot on cage that found the back of the net.

With the stakes high and less than six minutes to go in regulation Sawchuck used her strong stick stills to create a scoring opportunity where she was able to find Bushey on the right post and bank the ball past senior goalkeeper Murphy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) to take the 4-3 lead.

The Gulls held the Seahawks for the remainder of the game to hold the lead and secure the victory. Ventura walked away with five saves while her counterpart McCann made an impressive 11 saves in the contest.