BEVERLY, Mass. – Junior Mary Verneris (Hamden, Conn.) recorded a pair of first-half goals to help pace the Endicott College women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a Commonwealth Coast Conference match played at Hempstead Stadium.
With the win the Gulls improve to 9-4-1 overall and 6-0-1 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 4-10-1 (2-4-1). The win snaps a four-game series winning streak for Wentworth.
Wentworth had a pair of chances – both by junior Madyson Reno (Simi Valley, Calif.) – in a span of 51 seconds. She had a shot saved by senior Shelby Elwell (Litchfield, Conn.) at the 2:27 mark and had an attempt hit the crossbar at 3:18.
Endicott took a 1-0 lead at 4:52 on a goal from Verneris (Hamden, Conn.), which was set up by senior Rachel Hanna (Chelmsford, Mass.). The Gulls continued to put pressure on the Leopards and Verneris made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted marker at 36:31.
Wentworth nearly got on the board early in the second half as freshman Emma daSilva (Lowell, Mass.) hired a shot on net which Elwell just got a piece of and tipped it over the crossbar. A penalty kick was awarded to the Gulls in the 52nd minute after a foul in the box, however junior Christie Fleming (Braintree, Mass.) made a save on the play to keep it a two-goal game.
In the 53rd minute, sophomore Sidney Brogan (Los Angeles, Calif.) sent a shot towards the net, which was cleared out by a backline defender just in front of the left post.
The Leopards ended the shutout bid with 3:23 remaining in the contest as senior Emily Richard (Fremont, N.H.) scored off a feed from freshman Molly Donahue (Quincy, Mass.).
Elwell made three saves for Endicott while Fleming had three saves in the second half for Wentworth. Junior Micaela Robinson (Goshen, N.Y.) made seven saves in the first 45 minutes of action. Endicott had a 22-14 shot advantage and a 7-3 edge on corner kicks.
Wentworth is at Eastern Nazarene on Saturday.
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