Gulls Suffer First Conference Loss to the Fighting Scots

WENHAM, Mass. – The Endicott field hockey team traveled across town for an early day matchup against the Fighting Scots of Gordon College. Junior Courtney Scott (Herndon, Pa.) scored twice for the Scots to lift over the Gulls 3-0 for the first time since 2007. Endicott sits at 5-5, (2-1 CCC) while the Scots move to 8-2, (3-1 CCC).

The first half for the Gulls consisted of a lot of defense. The Scots forced 14 shots in the frame keeping senior goalkeeper Lizetta Solarik (Carmel, N.Y.) and her defensive unit very busy. Junior Brittany Hawkins started the scoring early for Gordon at 5:26 when she received a feed from Scott and found the back of the net to put the Scots on the board.

The Blue and Green worked to try and create opportunities in transition but the Scots shut them down high. At 23:45 Gordon was awarded a corner which set Scott up to tally her first goal of the game. Junior Grace Fraby (Escibdido, Calif.) received the pass on the play and was able to find Scott sitting on the left post, where she was able to slip it past Solarik to make it a two goal game.  

Gordon was not finished yet, when less than 10 minutes later Scott broke free on the left side and blasted the ball from the top of the circle to sneak past Solarik to add another tally for the Scots. Solarik and the unit worked to keep the ball out but Gordon did a good job at crowding the circle and creating opportunities. Solarik made 10 saves on the half while sophomore Kristen O'Brien (New Boston, N.H.) tallied third defensive save of the season.

The second half looked a brighter for the Gulls as the worked harder to consistently move the ball up the field but the Scots defense crowded the defensive circle to keep the ball out and shut down any opportunity the Gulls had. A few times Endicott had great options on cross balls but each time the ball just skimmed the post to go wide.

Gordon led the Gulls in shots 14-7 in the frame but the defensive unit for the Blue and Green entered the half with a new face and shutdown all plays for Gordon. Both sides struggled to find the back of the net in second half which turned the game into a defensive battle.  Solarik only saw two shots on goal in the half deflecting both while her counterpart senior goalkeeper Anna Bury (Huntingtown, Md.) also stopped the two that came her way.

As time ticked down neither side was able to add a tally in their favor, ending the game with a 3-0 final to give Gordon the shutout victory. Despite the loss the Gulls held strong defensively fighting off corners. The Scots were awarded 13 corners throughout the game and Endicott was able to hold them to only one goal off a corner opportunity. Solarik came out with 11 saves while Bury made six.

The Gulls will have a short break as they look to Wednesday where they will travel to Seahawk territory to face Salve Regina at 7:00 PM in a CCC matchup. The Scots will also look to Wednesday as they play host to Wellesley for a 7:00 PM start.