Endicott Athletics and Recreation

    • Gulls Edged by Babson in Road Season Opener

    BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Endicott Gulls scored the first goal of their 2012 field hockey season but Babson tied the game in the first half and scored the lone goal after the break to emerge with a 2-1 win in both team’s season opener Friday night at MacDowell Field.

    Sophomore forward Mackenzie Hurst.
    Sophomore forward Mackenzie Hurst.
    August 31, 2012
    Box Score

    BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Endicott Gulls scored the first goal of their 2012 field hockey season but Babson tied the game in the first half and scored the lone goal after the break to emerge with a 2-1 win in both team's season opener Friday night at MacDowell Field.

    Sophomore Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, N.H.) gave Endicott a lead in the 31st minute when she knocked home the ball on a scramble in front of the net. The assist came from her classmate Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Conn.), a sign of increased contributions the Gulls expect this season from their second year attackers.

    Babson leveled the score at 1-1 as senior Kelly Walsh (Gardner, Mass.) took a pass from junior Morgan Lockwood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) on the left flank following a penalty corner, knocking home her first goal of the season just 54 seconds before halftime.

    First-year Melanie Jordan (Westford, Mass.) scored her first collegiate goal with 2:19 remaining in the second half to lift the Beavers to the victory.

    Two of the Gulls best chances came in the final 10 minutes of regulation as sophomore Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) missed just wide from inside the arc, and less than a minute later Babson junior goalkeeper Kayla Florence (Milton, Mass.) denied senior forward Hannah Thornberg (Oakland, Maine) on a shot in front of the net following a penalty corner, helping to set up Jordan's late heroics.

    Sophomore Soozin Kang  (Bordentown, N.J.) set up the winning tally, gaining possession along the right sideline and beating a defender to gain space before hitting Jordan, who was just inside the arc along the endline. Jordan turned and hit a hard blast from 12 yards out at a tough angle to beat Endicott goalkeeper Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.) inside the far post.

    Teixeira made three stops for Endicott (0-1), while Florence made eight saves on the game for Babson (1-0).
    The winning goal came against the run of play for the Beavers, as Endicott held a 10-3 shot advantage over the final 35 minutes, and had multiple chances to take the lead. Florence, who was superb in her first career start, made a handful of game-saving stops in the second half to help Babson stay in the game. She also got some help from junior back Alex Cabreros (San Diego, Calif.), who made two key defensive saves to keep the game deadlocked at one apiece.

    Cabreros got a stick on a shot by Endicott's Elizabeth LeClair (Wilton, Maine) just in front of the goal line a little more than six minutes into the second half before Florence denied Thornberg's rebound attempt just seconds later to thwart an early Endicott flurry.

    After both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the opening minutes of the game, Lockwood nearly opened the scoring for Babson a little over 11 minutes in but was denied when Teixeira made a sprawling save on her shot from eight yards out. The Gulls countered with two great chances of their own as LeClair and Thornberg had looks from point blank range, but both were denied by Florence midway through the period.
     
    Endicott outshot the Beavers 6-4 during the first 35 minutes and 16-7 for the game. Endicott also held an 11-7 advantage in penalty corners, which included an 8-3 edge in the second half.
    The Gulls are off until next Saturday when they will be at Colby-Sawyer College at 1 pm. Babson College will return to action on Sunday when they head to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to take on Skidmore College in a 12 p.m. start.