Olivia Hebert

Gulls strike late to turn back Nor'easters


Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Emily Sawchuck and Hannah Thornberg scored inside the final three minutes of regulation to break a 1-1 tie and lift Endicott College to a 3-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) field hockey victory over the University of New England at the new North Field Saturday afternoon (Sep. 29).

In a contest that had been tied for nearly 20 minutes during the second half, Thornberg found Sawchuck for what would be the game-winner with 2:49 left, as a shot off a penalty corner play glanced off the post into the top of the goal.

Thornberg then sealed the deal with 28 ticks on the clock, bringing the Gulls up to 7-3 on the season (3-0 CCC).

The setback was the first in league play for the Nor'easters (2-1), who slip back to 4-5 overall. The two sides will meet again on October 17 in Biddeford.

Endicott held an 11-5 edge in shots during the first half, and Sawchuck was the only one to find the back of the cage during the period with a 21st-minute goal.

In the 48th minute, Big Blue junior Hayley LaPointe (Topsham, Maine) knotted things up by tucking in a rebound for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.

The Gulls tallied 13 shots and earned 12 corners in the closing 35 minutes to end the match with sizeable advantages in each category (24-11 and 17-9).

Taylor Teixeira only needed to make four saves to get the win for Endicott, which is off until entertaining Nichols College in a week (Oct. 6).
For UNE, which returns home to face the University of Southern Maine on Thursday (7 p.m.), sophomore Kaitlyn Warren (Boscawen, N.H.) recorded seven stops. Senior Laura Egounis (Boscawen, N.H.) also had a defensive save in the game.