BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore Riley Perkins (Lakeville, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal on a penalty stroke just 38 seconds into the second overtime period and top-seeded Endicott held off No. 4 seed Western New England by a score of 3-2 in thrilling Conference of New England (CNE) semifinal action on Wednesday night at North Field.
With the victory, the Gulls advance to Saturday's CNE championship game, where they will host No. 2 seed Roger Williams. The Hawks were a 6-1 winner over No. 3 seed University of New England in Wednesday's other semifinal.
Perkins' penalty stroke goal came seconds after senior Tori Swanson (Farmington, Mass.) saw a shot turned away by Western New England goalie Alex Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.).
Both teams traded chances in the first overtime as Swanson nearly won it for the Gulls prior to a defensive save, while the Golden Bears drew a pair of penalty corners. Sophomore Faith Minickene (Madison, Conn.) made a trio of saves for Endicott that kept the game deadlocked at two.
The game was scoreless through nearly the entire first half before senior Lily Johnson (Paxton, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Gulls in the final seconds as she gathered the ball on the right side of the circle and slid a shot to the far post that made it a 1-0 game.
However, Western New England responded in the opening seconds of the third quarter with a goal from Haley Kaczka (Granby, Conn.) following a penalty corner to even things at one apiece.
From there, both teams continued to mount the pressure offensively as Minickene made six saves in the third quarter and Tardugno added three. With 2:30 remaining in the third quarter, Swanson collected a loose ball near the goal mouth and tapped it home to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage.
Endicott maintained the lead for much of the fourth quarter until the Golden Bears' Mikayla Mrzywka (Macedon, N.Y.) found the equalizer with a tick more than five minutes to play in regulation.
Both goalies made 12 saves in the contest, and Endicott held a 28-22 advantage in shots, led by nine from Swanson and seven from Johnson.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls advance to the conference championship game for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
- Perkins' game-winner was her third of the season and her 11th tally overall.
- Minickene's 12 saves marked her second-highest total of the season.
- First double-overtime game of the season for Endicott.
- The win ties the program record for most wins in a single season.
- This marked the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 2022 (11/3, 5-3 W)
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 1 seed Endicott (19-1) advances to the CNE Championship game on Saturday, November 8 at 1 PM against No. 2 seed Roger Williams. Western New England sees its season come to a close with a record of 12-9.