By Andy MacDougall, News Correspondent

Before the 2012 Northeastern field hockey team first set foot on the pitch, before the team was even back on campus, senior forward Crystal Poland knew what she wanted this season.

She wants a conference title and a season capped with a national title, but every college athlete wants that. Poland wanted something a little more simple, and in some ways, a little more personal.

She wanted a win over Old Dominion University – a win that had eluded her and her teammates over the past three years, and well beyond that.

But Sunday, after a motivating, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the College of William & Mary on Friday night, Northeastern once again found themselves on the wrong end of a barnburner at Boston College’s Field Hockey Field, as the then-No. 9 Lady Monarchs escaped with a 2-1 victory over the then-No. 8 and home-team Huskies.

“Obviously we’re all a little disappointed that we did lose, but we’re also still proud of how we played, and that we didn’t give up,” Poland said. “They didn’t score at all in the second half. We had twice as many corners as they did. But it still kind of hurts a little.”

For an opponent that is perennially renowned for its offensive abilities, Northeastern was the one who looked fit of win, but came up short. Both squads took nine shots on the afternoon, but Northeastern had twice as many penalty corners (8-4) and drew Old Dominion into nine more fouls.

Old Dominion’s first goal came on a cross-crease feed from senior forward Maartje van Rijswijk to senior forward Kimberly Oakes. Like any goalie, senior Lizzie Priest hugged the near post, so when the Lady Monarchs connected on the pass within feet of Northeastern’s far post, Priest came up empty on the save.

The second Lady Monarch goal came just before the half. Freshman midfielder Sarah Breen took the shot off a penalty corner, and freshman midfielder Celine Marquet deflected the shot just in front of the Husky net. Priest and the Northeastern defense had no time to react, and the ball flew just within the near post for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Between the two ODU goals, senior forward Nicky Graham netted her first of the season. Junior forward Lindsay Bennett took a penalty corner at 19:58, and passed the ball to Graham. Graham gave it to Poland, who drew the defense before passing it back to Graham on the near post. Graham wristed it just inside the post to then tie the game at one.

The second half was a defensive juggernaut, as the Huskies worked hard to press up field for the equalizer. With only a few minutes remaining, the Monarchs took a shot on Priest near-post.

Priest made a quick save, but the rebound went precariously close to Northeastern’s far post. Senior midfielder Emily Norell was there, standing in front of the net to add an extra layer of defense for the Huskies, and flicked the ball out of harms way.

“Our defense constantly steps up, and each defender will come up with a sick play that gets the ball out,” Poland said. “I thought [ODU’s] forwards were really good. They put a lot of pressure on us, and for our defense to come out like that, it’s a positive step for us.”

The Huskies earned a penalty corner with less than a minute remaining in regulation and attempted the same play that earned them their first goal: Bennett to Poland to Graham. Graham drew the defense to the near post, and took the shot across her body, but the ball rolled just wide of the far post and Old Dominion killed the remainder of the clock for the win.

The loss came off a gutsy win over conference foe William & Mary at Harvard on Friday. After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Huskies exploded for three goals in the second.

Sophomore midfielder Caroline Judge tied the game at one just 2:36 into the second. Midway through the second, Poland gave the Huskies the lead for good with a goal off a penalty corner with 15 minutes remaining, and sophomore Kate Carlson, a back for the Huskies, netted the first goal of her college career for the game-winner with 10 minutes remaining.

The Huskies, now No. 9 in the country, know it’s important to be 1-1 in conference play, but with Old Dominion leaving the Colonial Athletic Association at season’s end, the Huskies were hoping to take care of business against a team that they had been 2-22-1 against all-time.

“I feel like we’re not destroyed by [the Old Dominion loss],” said Murtagh. “There are so many things this team wants to do, that the focus is still there.”