Gulls Rally to Beat North Shore Rival Salem State 5-4

SALEM, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey team took a trip over the bridge Thursday evening for a North Shore Cup battle at Salem State. This marks the first time since 2010 the Gulls were able to come out on top against the rival with a final score of 5-4. Juniors Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, Conn.) and Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) each scored twice in the contest while Alyssa Clark (Gorham, Maine) scored once.

There were a lot of goals in the contest on both sides. The Vikings drew first blood early in the first half as senior Lauren Pazdziorny (Middleton, Mass.) was able to collect a pass from sophomore Kathleen Clark (Southboro, Mass.) and slip it passed senior goalkeeper Lizetta Solarik (Carmel, N.Y.). The Gulls showed no mercy as defender Clark stepped on the circle for an offensive corner to receive the insert from junior Liz LeClair (Wilton, Maine) and buried one past goalkeeper Michaela Boyer (South Hadley, Mass.) to tie up the game. Just minutes later Salem State answered back as freshman Katie Pietrini (Beverly, Mass.) dribbled down and was able to get a shot passed Solarik to take back the lead.

At 13 minutes remaining in the half Hurst scored her first goal of the night as she was able to collect a feed from Sawchuck on the right post and bank it into the back of the net to tie the game back up. The Blue and Green put pressure on the offensive end forcing three corners in a row but none were successful. With two minutes remaining in the half Salem State again took the lead off an offensive corner as sophomore Paige McNikol (Marlboro, Mass.) took the pass from Pazdziorny and found the back of the net. The goal did not phase the Gulls however, as Sawchuck scored in the final minutes as she took the ball into the circle to the stroke mark and lifted the ball high passed the goalkeeper to the end the half at a tie.

The second half was a little quieter for both squads in terms of scoring goals. Endicott recorded two and Salem State tallied one. Sophomore Rose Bradley (Pottsdown, Pa.) entered the game for the Gulls in the cage at the start of the frame. Endicott took the lead in the first two minutes as she received the ball and did a reverse sweep to slip it passed Boyer. The Vikings answered back one more time as Clark scored off an assist from Pazdziorny to bring the game to a 4-4 score. Sawchuck recorded her first game winning goal on the season as she grabbed a rebound off the goalkeepers pads pushed it through the five-hole to take the lead for good.

Solarik and Bradley split time for the Blue and Green, while Bradley posted one save on the match, their counterpart Boyer recorded seven. The Gulls kept Boyer busy tallying 20 shots while they held the Vikings to 10 with strong efforts from sophomore defender Kristen O'Brien (New Boston, N.H.) who held strong on the back line. Hurst has now scored a team high three goals on the season while Sawchuck recorded her second highest single game performance with a total of five points.

Head Coach, Jodi Cipolla reflects on the game saying, "I am glad that we were able to finish some offensive fire power. Mackenzie Hurst had a great game and Kristen O'Brien stepped up big for us. Salem State was really fast and caught us in transition a couple of times. It is always a battle when we play them."

The squad has now added points to the board for Endicott for the North Shore Cup. The Gulls now sit at 1-1 and look ahead to Saturday where they face Colby-Sawyer at home on North Field at 1:00 PM.