Gulls Escape Quarterfinals Scare, Advance on Penalty Kicks

BEVERLY, Mass. – Third seeded Endicott was taken to the absolute limit by sixth seeded Wentworth on Saturday, needing extra time and then penalty kicks to emerge victorious and advance in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's soccer tournament quarterfinals matchup.

The Gulls and Leopards played to a scoreless tie through 110 minutes before Endicott advanced 3-1 on penalty kicks to reach the tournament semifinals.

Senior Chelsea Garlock (Meriden, Conn.) stepped up and scored on the fifth penalty kick for the Gulls, who shot first in the best-of-five shootout round, which decided the matchup in favor of the Blue and Green (11-5-3, 7-1-1 CCC).

Endicott sophomore goalkeeper Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.) made two diving stops in the shootout, stopping attempts from Wentworth's Olivia Moore (Salem, Conn.) and Jenelle Wolff (Portland, Conn.), to help Endicott advance.

The two teams were level after the first round of penalty shots, as Micaela Hogan's (Salisbury, Mass.) first attempt was saved by Wentworth goalie Jess Gardner (Wilbraham, Mass.) and the Leopard's Tori Armishaw (Scarborough, Maine) hit the right post.  The Gulls took a 1-0 advantage after the second round, which started when junior Lexi Dussi (Boxford, Mass.) scored for Endicott and Donnelly saved to her left on Moore's attempt.

However, the visitors took the momentum back in the next round. Endicott sophomore Claire Mansfield (Stoneham, Mass.) beat Gardner, but the shot hit the underside of the crossbar and came down in front of the goal line for a missed attempt. A strike from Wentworth freshman Jackie McCullough (Schenectady, N.Y.) restored order and set the teams level at a goal apiece.

A made attempt by Endicott senior Christine Silva (Stoneham, Mass.) and Donnelly's stop on Wolff set-up Garlock, who coolly converted her final attempt.

It looked as though Endicott would open the scoring on many occasions throughout the 110 minutes of play, as the Gulls controlled the ball and outshot their opponents 28-5, including 9-0 in the first half. The Gulls took eight corner kicks in the game, three in each of the overtime periods, compared to just one all afternoon by the Leopards.

Gardner played a superb game in goal for the Leopards, making eight saves and denying several pure scoring opportunities, particularly in the first overtime. She stuffed an attempt by Hogan just after denying Endicott senior Vanessa Caruccio (Winthrop, Mass.) a great scoring chance.

Donnelly made four stops, all of them in the second half of regulation, and records her eighth shutout of the season.

Endicott continues its streak of reaching the CCC semifinals, which they have done in each of the 14 years they have been in the conference. The Gulls will next travel to the #2 seeded Roger Williams for their semi-finals matchup, which is preliminarily scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Wentworth sees their 2012 campaign come to a close with a record of 6-11-2. The Leopards posted a 4-5 mark in the CCC this year.