By Andy MacDougall, News Staff
Traditionally in sports, the longer you go without a loss, the more intense the pressure becomes. Even if players say they don’t pay attention to it, every opponent comes into the game with a “nothing to lose, everything to gain” attitude.
After being topped for the first time this season, the Huskies no longer face the fear of suffering their first loss.
Northeastern split its two-game slate last weekend, as the Huskies came away with a 4-3 overtime victory at the University of Massachusetts on Friday before falling to the University of New Hampshire in double-overtime, 3-2, on Sunday.
“We have now learned to take nothing for granted,” freshman forward Deirdre Duke, who had three goals over the weekend, said. “We had such a good run and I think we started to become a bit complacent about it, like we almost expected to win. I suppose it’s better now than when it comes to one of our [Colonial Athletic Association] games, so I think it’s the only wake-up call we’re going to need.”
The loss dropped the Huskies from the ranks of the undefeated and from No. 7 to No. 8 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.
“If it had to happen sometime, I’m glad we lost before we go into a big Colonial Athletic conference weekend,” senior defender Allison Conti said. “We learned our lesson, we learned we need to get it done in 70 minutes and finish the game without overtime.”
The Huskies (6-1) began the weekend on a sour note, with less than seven minutes into their match up with the University of Massachusetts last Friday, Northeastern found themselves in a 2-0 hole.
Trailing by two for the first time this season, Northeastern used the remainder of the game to slowly chip away. At the 10:30 mark of the first half, redshirt-sophomore Kelly Dunn netted her first career goal with a redirect in front of the net.
Dunn, a forward from Ashburnham was for the first time playing against her twin sister Marisa, a midfielder for the Minutemen. Earning her first career goal meant a lot to her, not only because it came with her sister also on the pitch, but because it came in front of her friends and family who had made the trip from northern Massachusetts.
“My whole family was there,” Dunn said. “I know a lot of the players on the UMass team, too, so it was really exciting. It felt really good. It brought me back to my high school days.”
The game would remain 2-1 into the second half before senior forward Crystal Poland scored at 47:46 to knot the game at two apiece. Twelve minutes later, Poland scored again off a long-range shot misplayed by Minuteman goalie Sam Carlino to put the Huskies on top, 3-2.
The Minutemen scored off a penalty corner with 57 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, and after seven minutes of extra hockey, Duke notched her third goal of the season as her shot deflected off a UMass defender and into the goal. The overtime score marks her second game-winning goal of the season.
“[Junior forward Lindsay Bennett], I think gave it back to me at the top of the circle,” Duke said, “and I just put my head down and hoped for the best.”
Two days later, still riding the emotional high from UMass, the Huskies made their way up to New Hampshire to face the No. 21 Wildcats, and again, the Huskies found themselves down early. New Hampshire’s junior forward Hannah Richard stuffed a rebound past Northeastern’s senior Lizzie Priest for a 1-0 lead less than seven minutes in.
Northeastern would trail most of the half before Duke took a sweeping low shot that made its way past UNH’s Carlie Tarbell to tie the game at one with five minutes left in the first.
Duke netted another goal, this time burying her own rebound off a penalty corner for a 2-1 Northeastern lead with just over 20 minutes left in regulation.
But for the second game in a row, the Huskies were forced into extra time. With just over five minutes left in the game, junior defender Megan Bozek of New Hampshire sent a low shot through the circle and tucked it just inside the far post to tie the game at two.
In the first overtime, Northeastern couldn’t capitalize on a 6-0 penalty corner advantage, as all six corners failed to produce the game-winning goal.
In the second overtime, New Hampshire broke through the Husky defense and scored the game-winning goal, as redshirt-freshman forward Meg Flatley brought it in the circle, and was able to wrap it around an outstretched Priest for the 3-2 victory.
“We were able to finish in six games, and today we didn’t,” head coach Cheryl Murtagh said. “I think we had some good opportunities and unfortunately we didn’t take advantage of those opportunities. UNH is a good team, and we knew that. They’ve scored a lot of goals and we had to play tough defense. We weren’t able to shut them down, but give them credit. We just didn’t finish.”
The team has no time to lament on the heartbreaking loss. They open up their conference play with a home game against the College of William & Mary at Harvard University ob=n Friday before arguably their biggest, most emotional game to date against Old Dominion University on Sunday at Boston College.
“[The loss] keeps us humble as a group,” Conti said. “It refocuses us. William & Mary is going to be a big game, same with Old Dominion. It’s going to be a big weekend.”
The Huskies have not yet beat the Lady Monarchs since a 1-0 victory on October 4, 1998, a streak which this senior-laden team is looking to break in potentially their final match up with Old Dominion. In May, ODU announced this would be their last season in the CAA after accepting a spot in Conference USA, which doesn’t sanction field hockey, leaving the heated CAA contest in the air after this season.
