Second half surge powers Keene State past Endicott in ECAC Championship
November 14, 2010
Boxscore
Keene, N.H. - Senior forward Katie Bradford's (Lebanon, N.H.) late second half goal lifted the Keene State College women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory in the ECAC Northeast Championship played at Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Keene, N.H. - Senior forward Katie Bradford's (Lebanon, N.H.) late second half goal lifted the Keene State College women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory in the ECAC Northeast Championship played at Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Senior midfielder Nora Mahoney (Belchertown, Mass.) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for her efforts over the three games.
Both teams played to a scoreless first half before combining for four goals in the second.
Freshman midfielder Hayley Kenyon (Exeter, R.I.) crossed the ball to Bradford with 12:42 left in the second frame, and Bradford beat Gull netminder Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.) for the game-winner.
Endicott had their best scoring chance of the first half with just over 18 minutes remaining, when Kayla Plante (Sanford, Maine) was the recipient of a rebound right in front of the net but her shot was denied by junior goalie Megan Dempsey (East Weymouth, Mass.) to keep the game scoreless.
Right before the break, Wyrsch made a great play to keep the Owls off the board, coming out of her net to deny Bradford of a scoring chance with 30 seconds remaining.
Early in the second half, sophomore Erin Griffin (Londonderry, N.H.) got a nice touch pass from Bradford and fired a shot from just inside the box. Wyrsch came up big again, making a diving save to deny Griffin.
With 35 minutes remaining the Gulls earned a free kick just outside the box as senior captain Victoria Hunt (Cumberland, R.I.) crossed the ball to the head of junior forward Colleen Pepin (Fairhaven, Mass.) that went just wide.
In the games 62nd minute, freshman midfielder Kristen Huckins (Westmoreland, N.H.) took a pass from junior Shannon Hennessey (Essex Junction, Vermont) and her shot sailed just over the crossbar.
The Gulls pressed right back, as senior captain Kayla Corbett (Danvers, Mass.) was found open in the box, but Dempsey came up with the nice save to keep the game scoreless.
Mahoney looked to put the hosts on the board as she beat the Gull defense but was dragged down in the box to earn a penalty shot. Freshman forward Jessica Berthiaume (Worcester, Mass.) drove home the ensuing kick to put Keene State on top 1-0.
Less than two minutes later Endicott evened the game at one apiece on a goal from Corbett. Pepin, who created the opportunity with a nice pass from just inside the box, was credited with the assist.
After Bradford's game-winner, junior back Melissa Dempsey (East Weymouth, Mass.) added an insurance goal off a corner kick. The Gulls failed to clear the ball out of the zone and Dempsey found the ball in her right foot and buried it in the back of the net for the 3-1 final.
The Owls outshot the Gulls 16-9, and held a slight advantage in corners at 5-4.
Dempsey made two saves for the Owls in the win, while Wyrsch made seven saves in the losing effort.
Keene State defended last year's ECAC title and finishes the season 17-6-2. Endicott wraps up the 2010 campaign with a 17-7-2 record.