By Danielle Ossher
The field hockey team suffered two close losses this weekend against its first two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents of the season. The two games marked the end of the Huskies three game road trip, where they won their first match 1-0 at Providence.
This weekend, however, did not prove to be the start to conference play the team was hoping for. The Huskies fell to William ‘ Mary 1-0 in a strong defensive game Friday. The 1-0 score haunted Northeastern again Sunday, when they dropped to rival Old Dominion, 1-0 in overtime.
In Friday’s game, William ‘ Mary took the lead in the first half after capitalizing on a penalty corner. Senior captain Liz Centofanti blocked the initial shot and the rebound before the ball landed on the stick of Tribe forward Rebecca Wagner. Wagner quickly swept the ball to teammate Jenna Cinalli, who was able to beat Centofanti, netting her third goal of the season.
Despite the goal, Northeastern’s defense played one of its strongest games, shutting down the Tribe offense after the goal was scored. The Huskies held William ‘ Mary to four shots in the game, all of which were tallied in the first half. Northeastern allowed only four penalty corners, while the Tribe allowed seven.
The Huskies outshot the Tribe, collecting eight shots in the game. However, the team was unable to capitalize on offensive opportunities during the game. William ‘ Mary goaltender Gwen Hunter made six saves in the game and Centofanti had two.
“I think the team is playing pretty well,” said head coach Cheryl Murtagh. “They’re just not finishing, not scoring goals.”
In its second game of the weekend Sunday, Old Dominion knocked out Northeastern 1:39 into the sudden-death overtime period. The Husky defense made another strong showing, holding the Lady Monarchs to six shots in the game.
Old Dominion ended the game just a minute into overtime when Lady Monarch senior Shannon Mobley ran the ball into the circle, bringing Centofanti farther out of the net to challenge her. Mobley made a quick pass to sophomore Kathleen Shea, who tipped the ball past Centofanti to end the game.
Centonfanti made two saves in the game, bringing her season total to 42.
“The team has a lot of confidence in [Centofanti] and I think that’s helped her a lot,” Murtagh said. “She’ll keep playing better and better.”
The weekend’s losses dropped the Huskies to 3-6 (0-2 CAA), and 2-15-1 against Old Dominion all-time.
In both games, Northeastern was unable to generate offense despite the impressive defensive showing. The Huskies have now been shut out four times this season, and have suffered two overtime losses, the first coming in their first game of the season against Northwestern.
Northeastern has the week off before returning to begin a six-game home stretch at Sweeney Field Sunday at 2 p.m. They will face New Hampshire, a non-conference opponent. The Huskies have the advantage over the Wildcats, with a lifetime record of 22-13-1. Northeastern took the team’s one meeting last season in a decisive 5-0 win on the road.
“Of our nine games, eight have been on the road,” Murtagh said. “It’s been a good experience for the players, but it will be great to be back home in front of the Northeastern crowd.”
The Huskies will play their next CAA game Oct. 5 at Sweeney Field at 2 p.m. against Delaware.
