WATERVILLE, Maine. — The Endicott wome's lacrosse team defeated Emmanuel (Mass.), 20-3 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bill Alfond Field.

Abbie Belleville (Salem, Conn.), Leah Black (Cheshire, Conn.), and Jaira Paine (Granby, Conn.) led the Gulls with a hat-trick, while Ava Amara (Southbury, Conn.), Grace McAfee (Marmora, N.J.),  Mia Samarjian (Stow, Mass.), Stella Tessier (Cheshire, Conn.), and Clare Wendell (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) all scored twice. Sophia Notine (Arundel, Maine) found the back of the net once.

Black also had five assists in the victory for eight points in the contest. 

In goal, Payton Quirk (Nahant, Mass.) made four saves for win No. 16 of the season.

The Gulls jumped out to a 9-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Paine led the charge for Endicott with three goals as Black also scored twice.

Endicott then had five different goalscorers (McAfee, Belleville, Amara, Wendell, and Samarjian) in the second quarter as they pushed their to 14-2 by the halftime break.

A 6-1 scoring advantage in the second half allowed the Gulls to put the game away and secure the programs second-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• First-ever meeting between the two programs.
• First NCAA Tournament win since 5/8/13 when the Gulls defeated Springfield, 4-3.
• Quirk tied the program record for wins in a single-season.
• Black now has eight or more points in back-to-back games.

WHAT'S NEXT 

Endicott (16-4) advances to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and will meet Colby on Sunday, May 11 at 1 PM. Emmanuel (Mass.) sees its season come to close with a record of 14-7.