Endicott Tops Blue Lacrosse in Back and Forth Contest

WELLESLEY, Mass. — Endicott College rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat Wellesley College lacrosse, 10-8, during a snow and rain soaked contest on Saturday afternoon at the Wellesley Outdoor Fields Complex. Endicott improves to 5-3 on the season, while Wellesley drops to 3-2 with their first non-conference loss of the season.  

The Blue opened the contest with three consecutive goals from Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.), Chesley Hooker (Cypress, Texas) and Claire Canty (East Rockaway, N.Y.). Both Sharkin and Canty finished the game with a team-high three goals apiece, as Sharkin ran her team-leading total to 19 on the season. Canty added an assist and three draw controls for the Blue, who also got a goal from first year Jenny Gubner (Pleasanton, Calif).  

Endicott was led by a five-goal performance from sophomore Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.). Senior Ellie Clayman (Beverly, Mass.) also added a pair of goals, while Meghan Lennon scored a goal and collected a game-high eight draw controls to pace the Gulls. 

Endicott stormed back from the early deficit, tying the game at 3-all by scoring three consecutive goals of its own; the last coming on Whitney's first marker of the contest at 16:02 of the first. 

Canty would give the Blue the lead back at 13:40, adding her second of the game to make the score 4-3. However, the Gulls closed out the first half with a pair of goals, both on free position shots, as Whitney scored at 11:41 and Clayman scored at 9:55 to send Endicott into the break with a 5-4 advantage. 

Endicott made their lead 6-4 in the opening minute of the second, when Whitney completed her hat-trick with an unassisted effort. Sharkin was quick to responded for the Blue, bring Wellesley back to within one, at 6-5, with an unassisted goal just over a minute later.

The Gulls scored the next two goals in the contest, taking their biggest lead of the afternoon at 15:21 when Whitney scored her fourth of the game. Canty tallied her third goal at 12:52 to draw Wellesley back to within two but the Gulls would hold Wellesley scoreless over the next seven minutes before regaining their three-goal margin at 5:27 when Emily Cutting (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) scored on a feed from Katie Tierney (South Hadley, Mass.) to make the score 9-6. 

Sharkin and Whitney then exchanged goals in the final two minutes of the contest, before Gubner tacked on a goal in the closing seconds of play, as Endicott held on for the 10-8 victory.  

For Wellesley, sophomore Wendy Nettleton made eight saves on 18 shots in the loss, while sophomore Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) recorded four save to earn the victory for Endicott. Despite the early deficit, the Gulls rallied to outshoot Wellesley 26-14 in the contest. The Blue earned a 19-16 advantage in ground balls while going 4-7 on free position attempts. 

Wellesley will return to its home turf on Wednesday afternoon for a 4:00 PM New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest versus MIT. Endicott also returns to conference play this week when they travel to Boston to take on Wentworth on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.