Outstanding Team Effort Guides Gulls to 5-0 Win over Pioneers

BEVERLY, Mass.-  Behind a five goal offensive outburst and a stifling defensive performance, Endicott took down Smith 5-0 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon.  The Gulls were able to record goals from four different players and saw assists on the first two to record their second consecutive shutout.  Endicott was able to dominate in almost every aspect and controlled the tempo for most of the match.

The Gulls and Pioneers battled early on and both teams stood scoreless heading into the 30^th minute of competition.  In that 30^th minute, Endicott was able to get the ball into the box and onto Nicole Fournier's (Milford, Mass.) head.  The senior was able to flick the ball onto fellow senior LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) who then beat an outstretched Alanna Lynch (Trumbull, Conn.) on a header to record her first goal of the season. 

That momentum seemed to jumpstart the Gulls as they kept pressure on the Smith back line.  Madison Missinne (Ridgefield, Conn.) was able to net her first of the season off of a beautiful lead from Ashley Mueskes (Georgetown, Mass.) in the 40^th minute.  Mueskes led Missinne perfectly on a ball that split the defenders and allowed Missinne to run onto it.  Once on, Missinne was able to beat the Smith keeper to the lower left corner to advance the score to 2-0 in favor of the home squad. 

The Gulls would not be content with that score as Clare Mansfield (Stoneham, Mass.) would put the Gulls up 3-0 with just over two minutes to go until the half.  Her tally came off of a set piece as Endicott was awarded a free kick about 15 yards out from the box.  Mansfield was able to get off a crushing shot that took a mean deflection off of a defenders foot and was sent arcing over the keeper to give Mansfield her first of the season and a seemingly insurmountable lead at the break.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Gulls were clearly intent on not letting up and keeping up the fantastic efforts on both the front and back ends.  "It was great to see multiple goal scorers," said head coach Jodi Kenyon when asked after the match.  "It was also great to see such solid, hard defending that shut down their offensive efforts for almost the entire match." 

With Endicott still riding the momentum from the first frame and not wanting to let the Pioneers gain any of their own, the Gulls kept pressing forward while seemingly getting touches on every Smith pass.  Mackenzie Gaudet (Concord, N.H.) got loose in the 48^th minute and was able to record her first career goal in the blue and green.  Her tally made the score 4-0 and would be all of the action the scoreboard would see before a tough defensive play on the back end led to an on goal for Smith and the final score of 5-0.

"It would be impossible to single out any defensive players as the entire unit that set foot on the field today executed our game play perfectly," stated Kenyon.  "Keeper Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) was able to make a huge save early in the match that helped set the tone early for the entire team."  Donnelly and Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.) teamed up to complete the second shutout of the season for the Gulls as Donnelly started the first 55 minutes and made three saves while Wyrsch played the remaining 35 and made two solid saves of her own.  Donnelly saw her record improve to 2-3-1 on the campaign.

Alanna Lynch, who was tested early and often, played well in net and recorded a match-high seven saves in her 90 minutes.  Jordan Houston (Providence, Utah) and Lily Eriksen (Seattle, Wash.) led the Smith offensive effort as they both recorded two shots on goal. 

With the win, Endicott now improves their record to 2-3-1 as they are off until Wednesday when they travel to Wellesley for a 4:15 p.m. start.  Smith sees their record even to 2-2-0 and they also have a three day break before they travel to Chicopee, Mass. to take on the Blazers of Elms College.