By James Duffy, news correspondent
In a rare contest outside of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), the Northeastern University (NU) field hockey team hosted the University of Louisville on Sunday at Dedham Field.
Despite a strong effort, the Huskies could not overcome the No. 9 Cardinals, losing 1-0 and falling to 4-11 on the season.
The lone goal was scored on the first shot of the game by Louisville junior forward Lotta Kahlert.
Junior goalkeeper Becky Garner was strong in net after that, stopping the four shots that came her way the rest of the game. She now has 104 saves on the season.
Garner accredited a lot of her success to the team’s defense.
“I am so proud of how my defense has excelled over the past few weeks, starting from [The College of William & Mary],” she said in an email to The News. “The defense were [sic] calm and composed in the backfield, did the simple [things], stepped up and communicated effectively.”
The Huskies could not manage to beat freshman goalie Ayeisha McFerran, who posted a three-save shutout. Junior midfielder Natalie Stewart, sophomore forward Kristin Abreu and senior back Kate Carlson all recorded a shot on goal for NU, but to no avail.
It was another game in which the Huskies played well but could not defeat a quality opponent. This was the seventh time NU has faced off against a ranked team this season.
“Looking back on Sunday’s game, it’s the best we’ve played this season and gave up a good fight against a top-ranked team,” Garner said. “If we play like that, then we stand every chance of succeeding.”
The Huskies now look forward to the home stretch, with their remaining three games against CAA opponents. They will host Hofstra University on Saturday, then round out the regular season next week with a game at Towson University on Oct. 30 and a home game against the University of Delaware on Nov. 1.
Garner expressed immense confidence in her team for the next few games.
“The team has improved dramatically game by game, and we are more than ready for our next opponents in the CAA,” she said.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
