Field Hockey Upset by Sixth Seed Endicott, 2-0
Framingham, Mass. - The sixth seed Endicott College field hockey team upset the third seed Framingham State Rams today 2-0 in one quarterfinal game of the 2009 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Field Hockey Championship at Framingham's Maple Street Field. With the win, the Gulls improve to 12-8 on the season and advance to the semifinals which will be played at the highest remaining seed on Saturday. The Gulls will face the winner of the University of New England/University of Southern Maine quarterfinal that is being played later this afternoon.
Framingham State had several chances to take the lead in the first half. Just five minutes into the game, junior forward Kristen Sacco (Mendon, Mass.), a 2009 Little East Conference First-Team selection, fired a shot off a penalty corner that Endicott goalie Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, NH) turned away. With just under ten minutes remaining in the half, sophomore midfielder Kayleigh Force (Leominster, Mass.), who was also a First-Team LEC selection, dribbled through the middle of the Gulls defense and had a clean look at the cage but her shot sailed just wide.
Endicott picked up their intensity and was able to break into the scoring column first with 5:43 remaining in the opening half. Sophomore forward Anna Giannoni (Granby, Conn.) took a through ball and broke away from the Rams defense. She dribbled around Framingham State goalie Allesha Kenyon (Westford, Mass.), who had come off her line to challenge, and flicked a shot into the cage for what would prove to be the game-winner and her tenth goal of the season.
The Gulls would add an insurance goal in the second half to push their lead to 2-0. Sophomore forward Alexandra Parese (Wilton, Conn.) collected a loose ball in the circle and found the back of the net for her sixth of the season with 25:56 remaining in the game.
Teixeira was outstanding for the Gulls down the stretch as she turned away everything the Rams sent her way including two shots off a penalty corner with 17 minutes remaining that would have brought the Rams back within one goal. She finished the day with six saves en route to her sixth shutout of the season.
Kenyon finished the game with 13 saves for the Rams, who finish the 2009 season at 15-5 which is the best record in the history of the program.