By Andy MacDougall, News Correspondent
Long after those in attendance forget the score, and after the memory of who exactly the 2012 Northeastern field hockey played on Oct. 3 fades away, one moment from Wednesday night’s matchup against Harvard will forever linger with the program.
Jordan Field at Harvard University was the site of Northeastern field hockey history Wednesday evening, as senior forward Crystal Poland became Northeastern’s all-time leading goal scorer with a two-goal performance in a 4-1 victory over the Crimson.
“Honestly, it’s just a benefit of playing for this team,” Poland said. “First and foremost, I come out here to win the game. I go out to score, but if there’s an open player, I’m not going to take the shot. [The record] is really cool, but the season’s not over yet. We have to keep pushing.”
Poland now has 68 career goals, standing one ahead of former record holders Mari Creatini (2001-04) and Denise Nasca (1992-95).
“I think it’s awesome,” junior forward Lindsay Bennett said. “I think it reflects our season so far and how great a team we are this year. I know [Poland] is really modest, and I like to push her buttons a little bit and kind of embarrass her, so I made a big deal out of it. It’s a huge accomplishment, and she deserves to be applauded for it.”
After a two-goal performance on the road against James Madison University last Friday brought her within one of the record, Poland wasted little time in picking up where she left off.
The Huskies (9-2) earned a penalty corner 4:49 into the first. Bennett sent it to the top of the circle for senior forward Nicky Graham, who set up a blistering shot for Poland that found the back of the net.
Northeastern would add to their lead seven minutes later. A pass deep into the circle by senior forward Hannah Hoelscher was deflected into the air in front of Crimson goalkeeper Cynthia Tassopoulos. Sophomore forward Kelly Dunn was able to get her stick on the loose ball and tallied her second goal of the season to extend Northeastern’s lead to 2-0.
Just three minutes later, Poland placed herself alone atop the record books, as the triumvirate of Bennett-Graham-Poland united for Northeastern’s second successful penalty corner of the half, and pushed the Huskies to a three goal lead.
The penalty corner was Northeastern’s fourth converted corner in two games, an element to their offense that head coach Cheryl Murtagh and her players have worked hard to refine.
“Everybody [we play] is tough,” Murtagh said. “Our schedule is not an easy schedule. There’s always rivalries coming up, conference play coming up. You can never really take it easy, and we’re just trying to get better.”
Sophomore back Kate Carlson added an unassisted goal with 7:05 left in the first half to give Northeastern a comfortable 4-0 lead heading into the break.
Harvard played much more aggressively in the second half, dominating the Huskies in shots (11 to 5) and penalty corners (5 to 2), but couldn’t get the ball past senior goalie Lizzie Priest and a staunch circle defense.
With just under six minutes left on the clock, Harvard’s Kim Goh snuck a ball past Priest on a penalty stroke to bring the Crimson within three, but by then, Northeastern was in full control.
“I think we just came out hard like we’ve been doing all season,” Graham said. “We came here to make a statement. We came here wanting to be the best [field hockey team] in Boston, and this was the first step towards that. We had to come out strong and we had to pull out the win.”
Northeastern has a quick turnaround, as they return to the pitch tomorrow in Newark, Del., to take on the University of Delaware at 7 p.m.
