Women’s Lacrosse Bows Out in CCC Semifinals

BEVERLY, Mass. (May 4, 2022) – The No. 3 seeded Western New England women's lacrosse team went back and forth in the first half with the No. 2 seeded Gulls of Endicott College, though the Gulls would come around and out score the Golden Bears in the third quarter 5-0, ending Western New England's season by a final score of 24-12.

Records:

• Western New England: 13-6
• Endicott College: 13-6

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears got off to the start they were looking for as they looked to get revenge on the Gulls who had defeated the Golden Bears at Golden Bear Stadium earlier this season by a final score of 17-13. A quick 2-0 lead would favor the Golden Bears as Liz Mazza and Samantha Vitka would open the scoring for Western New England. Endicott would come screaming back, picking up the next seven goals in the game in less than six minutes of play. Kiana Napolitano and Morgan Pike would lead the way for the Gulls coming away with four of the seven goals, giving Endicott a 7-2 lead. Vitka would come away with the next Golden Bear goal before Endicott's Katie Schenk would answer with a mark of her own to give the Gulls a five-goal lead. Western New England would cut Endicott's five goal lead to a two-goal lead in 1:11 when Reilly Miller dialed up two goals, while Hannah Jarvis picked up her first of the night, giving Western New England six goals to Endicott's eight. The Gulls and Golden Bears would trade goals in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter, as the Gulls would take a two-goal lead into the second quarter. 

11 more goals were scored in the second quarter, just four belonging to the Golden Bears. EC would come away with a 12-7 lead before Western New England would get their first goal of the quarter. Two goals would find the back of the net for Endicott while Western New England would score one. The two for one streak would send Endicott to a seven-goal lead with 4:40 to play in the second quarter before the Golden Bears would put two goals in a row together. Samantha Vitka would collect both of those goals for WNE, getting the final two goals of the quarter, giving Western New England 11 goals in the 30 minutes of play, while the Gulls came away with 16 first half goals. 

Endicott would open the third quarter with the first five goals, picking up the only five goals of the quarter. Katie Wagner, Kiana Napolitano, Katy Garvin, Carly Pierce and Morgan Pike would all score goals for Endicott with the Gulls taking a 21-11 lead after the third quarter. 

The Golden Bears would be unable to mount a ten-goal comeback in the fourth quarter, seeing Endicott score three more goals in the fourth quarter. Liz Mazza would score the final goal of the contest, giving WNE their first goal of the second half. WNE would fall 24-12 in the contest. 

Inside the Lines:

• Reilly Miller and Samantha Vitka scored four goals each in the first half for the Golden Bears, taking a combined 17 shots on the night. 
• Western New England was credited with just seven ground balls while turning the ball over just 11 times to Endicott's 15. 
• WNE had just four goal scorers in the contest, with Hannah Jarvis and Liz Mazza pick up an additional two each. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England sees their season come to a close with a 13-6 record.
• Endicott meets top seeded Roger Williams University on Saturday, May 7 for the CCC Championship. The Hawks are currently riding a 15-game winning streak after dropping their season opener.