McCarthy Scores Four Goals As Gulls Notch Season's First Win, 15-7, At USM

GORHAM, Maine ­– The Endicott women's lacrosse team earned its first win of the season, 15-7, at host University of Southern Maine behind a game-high four goals from sophomore attack Erin McCarthy (Old Lyme, Conn.), Saturday afternoon at Hannaford Field in non-conference action.

The Gulls opened the game with a 3-0 lead just ten minutes in as junior midfielder Chelsea Burke's (Georgetown, Mass.) unassisted tally notched the first score on the board with 27:49 on the clock.

Sophomore midfielder Olivia Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) deposited the next one on the first of a career-high/game-high three feeds from freshman midfielder Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.). McCarthy gave the Gulls the 3-0 edge on a free-position shot to follow Larson.

The Huskies then rattled off three straight goals of their own to knot the score at 3-all with 11:56 to play in the first half as senior attack Sarah Pelligrinelli (Southington, Conn.) struck twice before junior attack Sam Campobasso (Buxton, Maine) was hit in stride by freshman Colleen Fleming (South Portland, Maine).

Endicott took a 6-3 advantage into halftime thanks in part two a pair of goals from junior midfielder Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) and Burke got her second of the afternoon with the assist by Whitney.

The Gulls registered four goals to begin the second half as freshman midfielder Jackie Neilsen (Agawam, Mass.) had two of Endicott's three free-position goals during this span to take a 10-3 lead with 18:14 remaining in the game.

The teams traded goals down the stretch highlighted by freshman attack Jackie Healy (Northborough, Mass.) netting a pair as the Gulls had their highest scoring output of the season to date.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott out-shot the Huskies, 28-17, including a 17-8 edge in the first half.
• The Gulls converted a season-high 5-of-10 free-position shots.
• Whitney has a hat trick in three of the last four games played, but today was her first multiple-assist game of the season.
• McCarthy tied her career-high with four goals (03/31/15 against Wentworth).
• Healy scored twice in her first career game played, while Burke had two goals in a single game for the first time in her career.
• Senior defender Brenna Shannon (Stratham, N.H.) recorded her first career assist.
• Junior goalie Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) made three saves as she earned her first win of the season (1-5) in 53:43 minutes of action.
• Campbell scooped up a game-high seven ground balls as Endicott had 29 to the Huskies' 18.
• Freshman midfielder Jaime Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) won a team-high three draw controls.

FOR THE FOES

• Senior goalie Caley Presby (Portland, Maine) stopped seven shots and fell to 1-2 on the season in goal for the Huskies.
• Pelligrinelli led the way with a team-high three goals.
• Junior midfielder Heather Everett (Waterboro, Maine) won a game-high six draw controls, caused a game-high five turnovers, and picked up a team-high six ground balls.

NOTES

• The Gulls are 10-0 all-time and 4-0 on the road at Southern Maine dating back to the 2002 season.
•  Endicott won the most recent meeting before today, 15-6, on March 7, 2015 in Beverly, Mass.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-5, 0-0 CCC) welcomes Bowdoin College to Hempstead Stadium on Wednesday, March 23 at 5:00 p.m. in non-conference action, while Southern Maine (1-2, 0-0 LEC) hosts the University of New England on Saturday, March 26 at 11:00 a.m. in a non-conference tilt. 

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