BIDDEFORD — Emily Whitney scored back-to-back goals just over a minute apart in the closing stages to help Endicott College take a hard-fought 12-11 win over the University of New England in a Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s lacrosse match Wednesday at the Big Blue Turf.

With the win, the Gulls improve to 7-4 on the season, 3-1 in CCC play. The Nor’easters stand at 5-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

With the score tied at 10-10, Whitney tallied an unassisted goal with 6:27 remaining to give Endicott the lead for good. Whitney provideed the Gulls with what would prove to be a much-needed insurance goal 1:18 later, converting a feed from Siri Mason.

Endicott won the following draw control and went into stall mode on its attack. It appeared as if the Gulls would extend the lead to three (13-10) at the 2:45 mark, but a goal was disallowed due to an illegal stick. The Nor’easters took advantage of the turnover, moving the ball down to their offensive end before Nikki Smith scored unassisted with two minutes remaining.

UNE was unable to notch the equalizer before time expired.

Whitney finished with a game-high four goals to pace Endicott. Ellie Clayman, Meghan Lennon and Erin McCarthy contributed with two goals each.

Smith had three goals for UNE, as did Gina Newsome and Hannah Warren.Jessica Deedon set-up three goals for UNE.

Maura Grady had 11 saves in goal to earn the win for Endicott, while Courtney Kendall stopped six shots for the Nor’easters.

The match was tight the entire way. UNE built a 4-1 lead in the first half, but the Gulls chipped away at their deficit to tie the score 5-5 going into intermission. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point of the second half.

The stat sheet was nearly identical in several categories, with each squad taking 29 shots, converting 12 of 19 clear atttempts, and Endicott holding a slight margin (21-20) in ground balls. The Gulls won 18 of 25 draws to help aid in the victory.

Men’s Lacrosse

No. 9 ENDICOTT 20, UNE 8

BIDDEFORD — Nick Pinciaro tallied five goals and two assists to pace No. 9 Endicott College in a 20-8 CCC men’s lacrosse victory over the University of New England on Wednesday at the Big Blue Turf.

With their fourth straight win, the nationally-ranked Gulls (4-0 CCC) improve to 9-2 on the year. The Nor’easters slip back to 6-7 overall, 1-3 in league games.

Kyle Weber added four goals for EC, while Jonathan Morgan chipped in with three and Will Jennings two. Colin Bannon helped set up the attack with four assists.

Tommy Hughes won 23 of 25 face-offs and picked up nine ground balls. Ian Knechtle scooped up eight ground balls, helping the visitors to a 47-28 edge in the category. Cameron Bell posted one save during the first half to get credit for the decision.

For UNE, Sam Cloutier and Andrew Curro each had two goals, and Dan Auger tossed in one to go with a pair of helpers. Starting goalie John Dusel made 11 saves before halftime.

The Gulls out-shot the Nor’easters, 38-6, over the course of the first 30 minutes, building a 16-2 cushion by intermission. Five different players got the visitors rolling in the initial frame until Morgan found the back of the net for his second as the buzzer sounded.