Gulls Make Program History with Triumph over #13 Bates in Final Seconds

LEWISTON, Maine – The Endicott women's lacrosse team traveled to #13 Bates on Wednesday evening for a non-conference matchup. Junior Siri Mason (Williamstown, Mass.) scored four goals including the game winner in the final seconds to secure the 11-10 victory over Bobcats. The triumph marked the first in program history in their five meetings. The Gulls improve to 4-1 while NESCAC foe, Bates falls to 6-2.

The contest was a battle in the first half as the Bobcats controlled the scoreboard 7-4 by halftime. However the Blue and Green pushed hard for the entire 30 minutes of play. Senior Rachel Campos (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who posted three goals in the game, started the scoring early in the 27^th minute as she nailed a free position shot.

Four minutes later senior Wally Pierce (Weston, Mass.) tied the game up after slipping the ball past senior goalkeeper Ryan Socolow. A minute later senior Callie Murphy (Woburn, Mass.) pulled off the unassisted goal to take back the lead, but the Bobcats answered with back to back goals to make it a 3-2 game in their favor.

Campos would not let Bates lead last for long as she fired back at the 14^th minute mark to make it a 3-3 score. Again, the Bobcats answered back with a pair of goals, one being a man-up advantage off a yellow card by junior Ellie Clayman (Beverly, Mass.) to take back the lead for the third time. Mason and rookie Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) worked hard to get within one as Lennon gave Mason a nice feed in front to cut the lead down to one. Bates, however closed out the half with two more goals, including another man-up opportunity to take the 7-4 advantage entering halftime.

Endicott posed a second half surge as they shutdown Bates by holding them to just three goals to their seven, six being consecutive unanswered goals. Mason started off in the opening minutes by making it a 7-5 game with help from Murphy. With their lead on the line the Bobcats scored three consecutive goals, two being from senior Blair Shrewsbury (Boxford, Mass.). The goals however would be the last for Bates as the Gulls sealed the game with six straight goals making it an eventual 11-10 final.

The first came at the 15:40 mark when Lennon pulled off the unassisted play to cut the lead to five. Within a minute of one another freshman Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) and junior Katie Tierney (South Hadley, Mass.) got the Blue and Green back within two.

With less than nine minutes to go in regulation Mason tallied her third goal of the game with help from Murphy, for the second time of the day, as she made it a 10-9 score. At 2:20 tri-captain Campos came up huge as she tied the game up at 10 apiece, which fired up the Gulls. There were 39 seconds remaining on the clock when Mason forced a Bobcats foul in the eight meter mark to create a free position opportunity to seal to victory which she slipped past sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Jeffrey (Greenwich, Conn).

The Gulls have now faced the Bobcats five times, tonight marking the first victory for the Blue and Green and a great milestone for the program under the leadership of Coach Meghan Fitzgerald.

Socolow made four stops in the contest while Jeffrey came up with three. Mason played one of her best games yet as she followed her four goals with three caused turnovers and three groundballs. Campos (7) held strong in the circle as she and Murphy (3) helped give the Blue and Green a 12-11 advantage on the draw.

Endicott will take the field next on Saturday, March 22^nd at 3:30 p.m. when they face their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent of the season, Roger Williams in Hawks territory.