BEVERLY, Mass. – Senior Olivia Moore (Salem, Conn.) scored three times, including the game-winning goal 1:10 after Endicott had tied the game as the seventh-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology women's soccer team upset the second-seeded Gulls, 4-2, at a rainy, windy, and cold Endicott Stadium.
The Leopards' first-ever win at Endicott in 13 tries improves the Black & Gold's record to 9-8-2 and they advance – for the second straight season and third time since 2009 – to the CCC semifinals where they will battle third-seeded Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday at 4:00. Endicott falls to 10-5-4 and awaits word on a possible NCAA or ECAC Tournament berth next week.
Moore put the Leopards on the board early as she scored at the 8:40 mark. Junior Valeria Zapata (Pawtucket, R.I.) fed a pass form the right side of the box to Moore, who one-timed the shot past Endicott senior keeper Katie Donnelly (Madison, Conn.).
Endicott nearly tied the game in the 21st minute when junior LeeAnn Card (Paxton, Mass.) nearly evened the score. Card took a feed from the left of the box and lifted a shot that edged just over the crossbar.
Wentworth appeared to be headed to halftime with a 1-0 lead, however the Gulls played beat the clock to even the score. Senior Taylor Geas (Somers, Conn.) took possession of a Leopard cleared pass and beat senior keeper Nicole Leahey (Warwick, R.I.) with just three-tenths of a second remaining in the half.
A flurry of activity early in the second half began when sophomore Mary Pastorelli (Whitesboro, N.Y.) took a free kick from 35 yards out. On a clearing attempt, an Endicott defender misplayed the header, which resulted in an own goal and a 2-1 lead at the 50:29 mark.
Endicott evened the score at 52:31 when Geas tallied her second of the contest as she came along the right side and fired a shot to the upper right corner of the goal. Following a Gull foul in the box, Moore stepped up and buried her second penalty kick of the season at 53:41.
Moore completed the hat trick as she netted her seventh marker of the season with 18:14 remaining when she stripped an Endicott defender of the ball and fired a shot to the upper left corner of the net.
Leahey made seven saves for the Leopards while Donnelly made three for Endicott. The Gulls held a 21-13 shot advantage and took 11 of the game's 12 corner kicks.
