Gulls rally past Seahawks, 4-3
BEVERLY, Mass. - Trailing 2-0 in the second half, the Endicott men's soccer team scored four straight goals to pull off a stunning 4-3 upset over The Commonwealth Coast Conference's top team, Salve Regina, on Saturday afternoon.
The win, coupled with a New England College loss, gives the Gulls a three-point cushion for the eighth and final seed in the upcoming TCCC Tournament. Endicott improves to 5-9-2 (5-6-1 TCCC) while the Seahawks drop to 14-2-1 overall and 9-2-1 in the conference.
The Blue and Green entered the day tied with NEC with 13 points in the conference while Salve Regina stood tied for first with Nichols. The Gulls host New England College on Tuesday at 3:30 pm in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
Salve Regina opened the scoring just before halftime. Christopher Knoth (East Islip, N.Y.) played a long through ball to a streaking Sean McAllister (North Arlington, N.J.), who beat Endicott goalkeeper Daniel Higgins (Kingstown, R.I.) to the ball at the top of the box and sent a slow roller into the back of the net.
The Seahawks Ken Johnson (Colonia, N.J.) doubled the lead in the 57th minute as the visitors looked poised to break the game open. Trevor Audet (Duxbury, Vt.) found Johnson in the box and the senior forward drove home a right-footed shot.
Endicott cut the lead in half after a Brian Connery (Boxford, Mass.) free kick from 35 yards out struck the crossbar and was cleaned up by junior defender Chris Serpa (Bristol, R.I.).
The hosts found the equalizer exactly seven minutes later when Ryan Coates (Wethersfield, Conn.) intercepted a failed clear attempt and lofted a shot from the top of the box to knot the game at 2-2.
Midfielder Nick Goldman (South Windsor, Conn.) put the Gulls on top in the 78th minute. Robbie DiTommaso (Farmington, Conn.) headed the ball to Goldman 25 yards from goal and the junior let loose a high-arcing shot that settled just inside the crossbar.
Endicott stretched the lead to 4-2 in the 87th minute after Eric Trant (Stoneham, Mass.) collected a loose ball in the center of the box and drove home a right-footed shot that put the game out of reach.
Trant's goal would prove to be important as Salve Regina's McAllister tacked on a late penalty kick goal.
Higgins made five saves between the posts for Endicott while the Seahawks' Devin O'Gorman (Canton, Mass.) made two stops.
"This was nothing short of an abolutely brutal match for us," said Salve Regina head coach Craig O'Rourke II. " I thought the two fouls on Camarda, especially the second one in the middle of the field, certainlty hurt us, but without a doubt, the turning point of the match was when (Bobby) Ernst's head was split open. Knocking one of our 6-3 centerbacks off the field definitely opened up more of the air for Endicott which is where it had its success. Now, we have to try and get healthy as quickly as possible as this loss puts so much more emphasis on our mid-week tilt with Gordon."
Salve Regina returns to the pitch on Tuesday with a 3:00 pm showdown at home against Gordon in the final game of the regular season.
Courtesy of Endicott sports information