By James Duffy, news correspondent
The Northeastern University (NU) field hockey team (2-6) struggled this weekend against two local rivals, dropping games against Harvard University and Boston College (BC) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
The Huskies found themselves in a defensive battle with Harvard as Crimson junior back Elizabeth Jacobson notched the game’sonly goal late in the first half. That was all junior goalkeeper Becky Garner would allow, as the NU goalie set a season-high with 12 saves in the game, a mark she would reset against BC.
Sophomore midfielder Kristin Abreu and senior back Kate Carlson led the offensive attack for NU, each recording two shots on goal, but the team could not figure out a way to beat Issy Davies, Harvard’s senior goalie.
In Chestnut Hill on Sunday, the unranked Huskies had their hands full, facing off against the No. 11 Eagles of Boston College.
Becky Garner put forth another strong performance for NU, stopping 14 of the 20 shots that came her way, resetting her season high mark for saves and coming one shy of her career record.
“[Garner] has held her own back there and has been under a lot of pressure,” Head Coach Cheryl Murtagh said.
Garner now has a .747 save percentage on the season, good for second in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). She leads the CAA with 65 saves on the year.
The offense for the Huskies was better on Sunday, as freshman forward June Curry-Lindahl fired two shots on goal, managing to find the back of the net once.
Curry-Lindahl’s tally was her third of the season, which leads the team, and the first goal for NU since its 2-1 win over Dartmouth College on Sept. 11.
The team finished with 13 shots on the day, with freshmen forwards Abbey MacClellan and Kellie Stigas each putting two on goal. However, the Huskies fell to the Eagles 6-1.
“It’s hard to win games when you aren’t scoring goals,” Murtagh said, summing up the offensive issues. “We need to play better if we want to achieve our goal, which is winning the CAA championship.”
Murtagh also stressed the importance of playing a full 70-minute game moving forward and of finding a way to maintain offensive pressure without defensive breakdowns as a result.
The team will play two games this weekend, at home against Monmouth University on Friday and away against the University of Maine on Sunday, before beginning conference play on Oct. 2 against Drexel University at home.
Photo courtesy Northeastern Athletics.
