Gulls win against Seahawks

BEVERLY, Mass.-  The Endicott women's soccer team played host to Salve Regina in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Saturday and came out victorious with a 7-0 decision.  The Gulls saw 11 different players register at least one point in the match as the team posted four goals in the first half of play before closing with three in the second.  With the win on their Senior Day, Endicott improves to 8-3-4 (4-1-1 CCC) while Salve Regina falls to 3-10-0 (1-5-0).

Endicott dominated the match offensively, out-shooting the visitors 26-7, while registering a 15-3 shots-on-goal advantage.  Salve held the edge in corners (4-2) and fouls (12-9) as Endicott used dominant midfield and defensive play to spring forwards loose up front.

The Gulls would get on the board first in the 10th minute as senior Taylor Geas (Somers, Conn.) was the recipient of a perfect cross from Jessica Joseph (Bedford, N.H.).  Geas took the lofted cross with her head and beat Salve Regina keeper Angelina Saporito (Bristol, Conn.) to the far post to give Endicott the 1-0 lead.  The goal was Geas' first of the season. 

Just over six minutes later, Joseph would register her second assist of the night as her initial shot was saved by Saporito but deflected to the foot of Audrey Parolin (Cumberland, Maine) who buried her shot to give Endicott a 2-0 lead.  The goal was Parolin's first of the year while the assist was Joseph's second.

In the 29th minute, Endicott would grow the lead to 3-0 behind an unassisted Shannon Hickey (East Haddam, Conn.) goal.  Hickey found herself with possession and space down the right side of the field.  She lofted a curving shot that just made it past the outstretched arms of the keeper and in off of the fart post.

The Gulls would close the first half scoring in the 41st minute when Madison McKinley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) would connect to give Endicott the 4-0 advantage.  Card fed a beautiful through ball through the defense that McKinley was able to run on and score off of.  McKinley's goal was her second of the season as the assist was Card's first.

At half, Endicott held the advantage in shots with 16 and shots on goal with 10.

The Gulls were able to ride the first half momentum into the second half as senior Hannah Scheidenbach (Charlestown, R.I.) took a feed from Ally George (Stratham, N.H.) and found herself one on one with the keeper.  She was able to deke with the goalie with a nice head fake to give Endicott a 5-0 lead as she recorded her second goal of the season while notching George's first assist of the season.

Endicott again found the back of the net as Shelby McLenithan (Bennington, Vt.) would use her speed to receive a perfect pass from Rebecca Litwin (Westborough, Mass.) that McLenithan ran on and tallied her third of the season, giving the home team a 6-0 lead.  The assist was Litwin's second of the season tying her with Joseph for third on the team with six points. 

The final goal in the match was scored in the 76th minute when Emily Rodewald (Canton, Conn.) recorded her first career goal.  Rodewald was able to strip a defender of possession on the right side of the box and lofted a beautiful arcing shot over the head of the keeper to give Endicott a 7-0 lead. 

That lead would hold true to the final whistle as the Gulls posted their largest margin of victory since October 26 of last season when they won 8-1 over UNE.  The 7-0 win was also the largest margin of victory in a shutout since the team's 8-0 win over Wentworth on October 24, 2012.  Senior keeper Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) played well in her 63+ minutes of play, recording three saves before giving way to Kristin Hartlage (Niskayuna, N.Y.) who came on to make her collegiate debut in the fourth minute.  The duo combined for the team's fifth shutout of the season and second straight as they received great defensive play from the backline of senior Clare Mansfield (Stoneham, Mass.), junior Betsy Albiani (Stoneham, Mass.), junior Katherine Chipman (Brunswick, Maine) and Hickey as the group allowed just four shots all match. 

With the win on their Senior Day, Endicott improves to 8-3-4 (4-1-1 CCC) while Salve Regina falls to 3-10-0 (1-5-0).  The Gulls return to action against Curry on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. start at Endicott Stadium for the final home match of their regular season, while Salve Regina heads to UNE on the same day and time before returning home for two matches to close out the season.