By Jill Saftel, News Staff

Hannah O’Donnell, Hillary Savoy and Hannah Terry know what it’s like to come out on the winning end of a double overtime, penalty kick shootout CAA tournament quarterfinal match. After all, it’s how they defeated George Mason University for a spot in the tournament’s semifinal match at the end of their 2011 season.

But when fifth seed Hofstra paid a visit to Parsons Field on Sunday to take on the No. 4 Huskies for the 2012 quarterfinal round, O’Donnell, Terry, Savoy and their teammates learned what it feels like to be on the losing end of that nail-biting double overtime, penalty kick shootout.

“This was a huge upset. Hofstra got lucky and they beat us,” O’Donnell, a redshirt sophomore midfielder, said. “We will never let that happen ever again. We were so hurt that they beat us the way they did.”

They battled the Pride as the first rumblings of Hurricane Sandy brought rain and wind to the field, a fitting backdrop for the gritty match, in which yellow cards flew as neither team was willing to back down. The 3-1 shootout advanced Hofstra in the tournament, and just like that the Huskies saw their CAA championship hopes end.

While the finish wasn’t what the Huskies wanted, it’s fueling a young team with most of its players returning to the pitch for the 2013 season with bigger goals than ever before.

Following their 2011 quarterfinal win over George Mason, the team returned to action the next day only to be eliminated in a 1-0 loss to Old Dominion University. After last season when the Huskies relied on other teams’ losses for a spot in the postseason, their goal was to make it to the CAA tournament on their own terms.

“One of our goals this season was taking fate into our own hands and not depending on other teams and a game of numbers to get into tournament,” junior forward and midfielder Terry said. “Getting in with a 7-3 record, we’re really proud of that and we’re making an impact on the regular season conference schedule.”

With that checked off their list, O’Donnell, Terry and Savoy are ready to lead the Huskies with a confidence and a conviction that this team is poised to achieve something more.

“We plan on winning the CAAs and by winning the CAAs we’ll already be nationally ranked,” O’Donnell said. “It’s time to make an impact on NCAA soccer. We’re ready to set our sights high.”

And with a young team, these three are some of the key players in terms of leadership on and off the field. Savoy, a junior midfielder, is a current assistant captain and has played in all 19 games with one goal and two assists this season. O’Donnell came off the bench and made a huge impact, starting in 12 games and playing in all 19 with four goals and two assists. Terry started all 19 and boasts two goals and five assists on the season.

Success in the postseason might always be a goal, but Sunday’s loss to Hofstra certainly put a chip on their shoulders that the players said they’ll use as motivation next season. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the CAA Tournament won’t be good enough for the Huskies, they’ll be looking for revenge and a CAA title.

“We come back with almost our full starting lineup except for Greta [Samuelsdottir],” Savoy said. “We all are going to be on the field next year and we can reflect back on this year and reflect on the tough games that we could have won and know that we can’t let that happen again.”

A rivalry has been building between Hofstra and Northeastern over the last two seasons, and this last battle has only increased the animosity. The Pride visited Parsons for Huskies senior day at the end of the 2011 season and came out with a 3-0 win.

A few Huskies were injured in the match, and Terry said some of their opponents were disrespectful, taunting and mocking them for having gotten the win on the Huskies’ turf. But that negativity only fueled Terry and her teammates to grab a regular season win at Hofstra this season.

“We beat them in a fair game that didn’t go to penalty kicks and we deserved that win, and that was the best response we could have given,” Terry said. “We’re always at the top of the group with Hofstra and the animosity from last year’s remarks that has just given us fuel.”