By Jason Kornwitz
BROOKLINE – Two games played, no goals scored.
The Huskies were shut out 3-0 by Hofstra in their first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference game at Parsons Field on Saturday, and tied No. 9 Boston College 0-0 in a closely-contested, double overtime match last Wednesday, bringing the club to 3-5-1 on the season.
Against Hofstra, the 2003 and 2004 CAA champions, a crowd of nearly 150 people watched NU struggle to mount an offensive attack, accumulating just five shots on goal, while their defense allowed the Pride myriad scoring opportunities throughout the match.
“The mistakes that we made shouldn’t be happening eight games into the season,” coach Ed Matz said. “And we don’t accept playing like this. Period.”
Just ten minutes into the action, the Pride made it 1-0. Hofstra midfielder Edel Malone drew goalie Mariel Wilner out of the net before sliding a pass to Chrissy Arnone who scored her first of two goals of the night.
With just seven minutes left in the first half, Hofstra goalie Becky Wachsberger made a quick pass to Arnone, who dribbled past midfield and passed to a streaking Larkin Hargraves. Hargraves then broke away toward the goal before slipping a shot past Wilner. The goal gave the Pride a 2-0 advantage, but it could have been worse if not for a few saves from Wilner.
“I don’t think the issue is that people aren’t working hard,” she said. “A breakdown starts with the entire team and it’s been an ongoing issue that defensive breakdowns are leading to goals.”
The Huskies were held scoreless for the third time in the last four games.
“I think we need to capitalize on our opportunities,” co-captain Jessica Pfeifer said. “We’ve been talking about playing with a sense of urgency and not just scrambling for a goal at the end of the game.”
During the 61st minute, the Pride, who improved to 5-2-1 on the season, added a third goal when Arnone artfully lobbed a shot over Wilner, who came out to challenge the shooter. If not for a laser of a shot that hit both posts before bouncing back into play, Arnone would have had a hat trick.
Despite a disappointing showing against Hofstra, the Huskies did manage to turn in an impressive performance against Boston College at Parsons Field earlier in the week.
“I was pleased with the way we played [in the BC game],” Matz said. “I was disappointed in the fact that we didn’t get a win but I was pleased with our commitment level.”
BC (6-0-1), a national powerhouse, was the highest-ranked team NU has ever played and came into the game as the only Division 1 school having not allowed a single goal on the season. NU went the entire first half without registering a shot on goal and recorded just two for the entire game, compared to BC’s four.
Scoring chances were few and the game remained a tightly-contested defensive affair until Whelan kicked the ball wide of an open net 20 minutes into the second half.
Only minutes later, Whelan had another scoring opportunity fall through when BC goalie Arianna Criscione leaped over the forward to steal a ball she was trying to head in off freshman Hanna Olson’s corner kick.
Regulation ended and a scoreless 10-minutes first overtime yielded a second and final overtime period.
With just seconds remaining, Whelan again had a golden opportunity to pull off the upset. As she drove toward the goal, Criscione came out to play the ball and Whelan tripped over the goalie just before she could take a shot. No foul was called and the game ended.
