BEVERLY, Mass. – Hannah Thornberg's (Oakland, Maine) second goal of the day capped a second half rally and gave the Endicott field hockey team a hard-fought 3-2 win over visiting Bridgewater State at the North Athletic Field.
Endicott erased a 1-0 halftime deficit on the strength of three second half goals to move to 5-1 on the season. Bridgewater State falls to 0-3.
The Bears opened the scoring early in the first half and threatened to add one more before the break. The second stanza featured back-and-forth play and a number of opportunities for both sides. The hosts were able to keep pressure on Bridgewater State's defensive third in the closing minutes and secure the victory. The result stretches Endicott's win streak to five.
Nicole Henrique (Swansea, Mass.) recorded her second goal of the season just past the eight-minute mark of the opening half. Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass.) found Henrique open in front of the net, and the senior made it count. Both sides traded chances before the Bears earned four penalty corners near the end of the half. The Gulls withstood the pressure and entered the break trailing 1-0.
The second half featured a quicker pace offensively from both teams. The Blue and Green earned a penalty corner just over six minutes into the second half after applying pressure to the Bridgewater State goal. Lindsey Mills (Arlington, Mass.) placed the ball squarely on the stick of Joanne Reid (Clarksville, Md.), who fired a shot from the top of the circle towards the net. Thornberg was in the right place at the right time and deflected the shot into the goal.
Just over four minutes later Endicott took the lead on a goal by Mills. The senior forward collected a rebound next to the far post and buried it. Her fourth goal of the season put the Gulls on top 2-1.
Bridgewater State answered in the 56th minute with Henrique's second tally of the day. The forward managed to find room to get a shot off in the middle of a scrum and beat a diving Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.) to even the score at two.
The game winning goal came less than three minutes later. Thornberg got behind the Bears' goalie and took advantage of a slow roller that slipped past the defense. The sophomore forward now leads the team with five goals on the season.
Bridgewater State threatened moments later but Teixeira made a pair of fine saves to keep the visitors at bay. Endicott earned four consecutive penalty corners in the closing minutes to control the ball and secure the win.
Taylor Teixeira made eight saves for the Gulls while Katie Weber (Arlington, Mass.) recorded 11 for the Bears. Endicott held an advantage in shots (20-13) and penalty corners (11-8).
The Gulls return to action on Saturday when they host TCCC-foe Western New England at 1:00 pm. Bridgewater State remains on the road for the fourth consecutive game when they travel to Little East rival Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday.