Endicott draws Williams in NCAA First Round

May 4, 2009

BEVERLY, Mass. - The NCAA Selection Committee announced the field of 26 teams on Sunday night, and the Endicott women's lacrosse team will be traveling to Williams College for a First Round game on Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. The Gulls qualified for their fourth straight tournament as the Blue and Green won the Automatic Qualifier out of The Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Ephs got the nod by way of an At-Large bid after falling to Colby College in the NESCAC Finals, 12-10.

The schedules of Endicott and Williams feature four common opponents, as the Gulls and Ephs each played Colby, MIT, Tufts and Bowdoin during the regular season. Williams lost to Colby twice (9-8 & 12-10) while Endicott fell to the Mules, 14-5. The two teams each beat MIT (Endicott 15-12, Williams 17-6), while the Ephs beat Tufts twice and the Gulls lost to the Jumbos, 10-8. The most comparable score on the two schedules was against Bowdoin College, as Williams lost to the Polar Bears 10-7 and Endicott was defeated 12-8.

Williams College features a pair of 70 point scorers as Margie Fulton (Wellesley, Mass.) and Britt Spackman (Newton, Mass.) have led the Ephs' offensive attack. Fulton has notched 44 goals and 26 assists while Spackman has 38 goals to go along with 32 helpers.

Endicott will look to counter with Valerie Feldman (Albany, N.Y.) and her team-leading 55 goals and 27 assists for a total of 82 points. Senior Alex Pearce (Underhill, Vt.) has 52 goals and 10 assists while Sara Gunter (Kennebunk, Maine) has 37 and 10. The Endicott defense has also held opponents to just 16 goals in its last three games, a goals-against average of 5.33.

Face-off between Endicott and Williams College is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Williamstown, Mass. To view the entire 2009 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament bracket, please click here.