By: Mike Brown, News Correspondent
The field hockey team is heading to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament for the first time since 2007, thanks in large part to sophomore forward Nicky Graham.
Graham scored 4:36 into overtime for the Huskies against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Friday, giving the team a 4-3 victory and a playoff berth. Her performance has earned her Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
“She loves getting in front of the goal, and she’s been able to finish,” head coach Cheryl Murtagh said.
Graham scored two goals against VCU, both of which came on redirections.
Graham also netted the overtime winner against then – No. 20 Stanford Oct. 18. Despite her apparent ability to come through in the clutch, she is hesitant to take personal credit.
“I think it’s the whole team together,” Graham said. “By using each other we’re able to make those chances.”
Despite having to recover from an off-season ankle surgery, Graham has managed to score seven goals for the Huskies.
“Nicky has some great skills,” Murtagh said. “She can score and put pressure on the ball [on defense].”
Graham’s skills run in the family. Her grandparents played for Kenya, and her older and younger sisters play the sport as well. She started playing field hockey in elementary school, but she also loved playing soccer.
“I started playing [soccer] when I was 5 or 6, and played all the way through until I came to Northeastern,” Graham said.
Coming to Northeastern allowed Graham, the North Vancouver, British Columbia native who has not declared a major, to realize her dream of attending college in the United States, she said. Graham’s older sister was the one who sparked her interest in American schools.
“I always thought it would be so cool,” Graham said. “Making it to play at an American school is such a privilege, I’m so thankful.”
Last year, Graham made her presence felt for the Huskies as soon as she joined the team. As a freshman, she started 17 of Northeastern’s 20 games and was named to the CAA All-Rookie team. Once again, she deferred credit to the team.
“There’s so many talented people on this team,” Graham said. “We share the glory.”
Murtagh was filled with praise for Graham.
“She’s a scorer, she works hard, and she’s a great kid to coach,” she said.
Graham played with four of her teammates before coming to Northeastern. Sophomore goaltender Lizzie Priest, sophomore forward Crystal Poland, junior midfielder Kaela Barker and senior midfielder Pam Aldridge all come from British Columbia and played together, with Graham, on the Canadian Junior National Team.
Graham and the Huskies head into this weekend’s CAA tournament with high hopes of avenging this season’s 2-0 loss to Old Dominion when the teams face off Saturday in Philadelphia.
“We were a little tentative [against ODU], we need to be more aggressive,” Murtagh said. “The big thing the team has done in the last five games is realize that we can beat anyone.”
Confidence runs high for the Huskies, who have won four of their last five games.
“We’ve played [ODU] and everyone knows we can [win],” Graham said.
