Outscored 7-0 in their past two contests, Northeastern returned home from their final road trip of the season for Sunday’s meeting against Saint Joseph’s University hungry for redemption.
The Huskies had maintained strong play in the first 35 minutes of their Friday contest, giving up just one goal with defense backed by first-year goalkeeper Julia Gluyas, who made five saves. James Madison University came back to score three second-half goals to defeat Northeastern by a four-goal deficit.
“Our defense, it’s got to be something we focus on every day,” head coach Cheryl Murtagh said. “JMU switched a lot and made things difficult for us, but we settled down a bit at the end of the first half. I think we know we have to play tough defense for our offense to be successful.”
Back at home Sunday, the Huskies took on the No. 19 Hawks in their final non-conference game of the year and the last of the Huskies’ five-game run against nationally-ranked teams. As the Huskies struggled against these tough opponents, Murtagh continually praised the team’s desire to learn from these matches.
“They know that they have to be sharp for 100 percent of the game,” she said. “They can’t let down. It’s made us a better attacking team. We have to find ways out of trouble against strong defenses. It’s been challenging us defensively. It is the way we want to learn.”
Murtagh’s observations proved true as the Huskies fell into their rhythm once more against Saint Joseph’s. Fifth-year forward Jamie Bartucca came back to life after not tallying a point since her goal against Boston University on Oct. 6. Bartucca played a role in all three of the Huskies’ goals Sunday during the team’s 4-3 defeat, scoring two and assisting on first-year Camille O’Conor’s equalizing point.
Bartucca put the Huskies on the board in the third minute of play, slamming the ball in on a rebound from third-year forward Laura MacLachlan’s penalty corner shot. The Hawks answered with three goals before the half. In the 38th minute, first-year back Aniek van de Graaf sent the ball upfield to fourth-year Kellie Stigas, who passed to Bartucca who drove it into the net to cut the Huskies’ hole to one. O’Conor netted her sixth career goal in the 53rd minute, but the tie was short-lived as Saint Joseph’s Emily Peters scored the gamewinner just six minutes later.
The Huskies will look to snap their five-game losing streak as they head to Dedham for the final weekend of the regular season, with conference matches against Drexel University and the University of Delaware. Ahead of Sunday’s game against Delaware, the Huskies will honor the three graduating members of the team — forwards Bartucca, Kristin Abreu and Mia Martin.
“I want the team to stay mentally ready,” Murtagh said of the upcoming weekend. “They have to come in focused and know what they want to achieve, so it’s our job as coaches to prepare them.”
