Women’s Soccer Gets Three Seed, Home Game in ECAC Tournament

BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott has earned a #3 seed in the 2012 ECAC Division III New England women's soccer tournament and will host a first round game against #6 Emmanuel on Wednesday at 3:30 pm.

The Gulls enter the ECAC tournament with a record of 11-5-4. They posted two shutouts in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tournament but fell on penalty kicks to Roger Williams in the semi-final round. This is their third consecutive appearance in the ECAC tournament after reaching the finals in 2010 and falling in the first round last year.

Emmanuel has a record of 13-6-1 this year. The Saints bowed out of the GNAC tournament in the semi-final round after a 4-0 loss to Lasell. The Saints have now been to the ECAC tournament three times in their history, with the other trips coming in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Endicott and Emmanuel have not met since 2003 and have only met three times in the program's history, with the Gulls victorious in each contest. In fact the Saints have never scored against Endicott, who has shut them out by scores of 1-0 (2003, in the GNAC tournament), 3-0 (1998) and 4-0 (1997).

Endicott brings a balanced offensive unit to the table as 14 members on its roster found the back of the net during the 2012 campaign. Senior forward Vanessa Caruccio (Winthrop, Mass.) leads the way with 16 points on seven goals and two assists while senior defender Caitlin Peters (Salem, N.H.) anchors the Gulls backline. Peters has been named the CCC Defensive Player of the Year each of the past two years as well as a CCC First Teamer.

Emmanuel junior forward Lindsey Garvey (Warwick, R.I.) leads the Saints in goals (10), assists (10) and points (30) and was named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Second Team. The forward ranked first in the conference with her 10 helpers while her 30 points was good for a fourth place tie in the league. Senior midfielder Brittany Ridge (Portland, Maine) was also an All-GNAC selection for the third consecutive season, being named to the First Team for her strong play in the midfield. Also joining the upperclassmen duo on the All-GNAC squad was rookie defender Ari Cardillo (Pittsfield, Mass.) who was a Third Team selection.

The University of Saint Joseph (CT) earned the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament with a 14-2-2 record and will face the No. 8 seed in Regis College (11-2-3). Keene State College earned the No. 2 seed with a 12-9-1 mark and will take on the No. 7 seed, Albertus Magnus College (11-6-2). The final contest will be between the No. 4 seed, Simmons College (11-7-1) and the No. 5 seed Colby-Sawyer College (14-3-4).