Women's Soccer Eliminated From CCC Tournament

BEVERLY, Mass. – Just three days after losing to Endicott by an 8-0 score to close out the regular season, the Wentworth women's soccer team battled the Gulls in a Commonwealth Coast Conference quarterfinal round game. This time the third-seeded Gulls were taken to the absolute limit by the sixth-seeded Leopards as the two teams battled to a scoreless draw for 110 minutes before the hosts advanced, 3-1, in the penalty kick round.

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

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 Leopards' 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 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. Gardner's eight saves give her 162 on the season, which ties the program's single-season mark.

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 second-seeded Roger Williams for their semi-finals matchup, which is preliminarily scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Wentworth sees its season come to a close with a record of 6-11-2. The game marks the final contest for head coach Angel Ayres, who is stepping down from her coaching duties to serve as the Leopards' Director of Athletics, a position she was appointed to last November. Ayres, is the only coach the program has had as she built it from the club level in the spring of 1997 and began varsity play in 1998. A two-time CCC Coach of the Year, Ayres compiled a 133-136-10 record and reached the CCC tournament in 11 of her 15 years guiding the Black & Gold. Bobby Desilets, who served as the co-head coach this season, will take over the program.

(Portions of this release courtesy of Endicott Sports Information)