By Maggie Cassidy

Senior captain Annie Petrofsky had a great weekend. She said she blacked out Friday night, and kept the good times going all the way through Sunday afternoon.

But the veteran keeper wasn’t partying on Mission Hill; she was at Parsons Field leading the Huskies to two double-overtime ties, first against Old Dominion, 1-1, and then against William ‘ Mary, 0-0. The games moved the Huskies to 2-6-3 overall (0-2-2 Colonial Athletic Association).

Petrofsky ended the weekend with two stellar performances, tallying two saves against the Monarchs and an amazing 14 saves against the nationally ranked Tribe.

“I actually don’t really think about it that much,” Petrofsky said. “To be honest, I feel like I black out when I’m playing. I don’t even really remember the plays afterward and I’m like, ‘Woah, what just happened?'”

Petrofsky used all means necessary to preserve the shutout Sunday, batting away scrambles in the box, sprawling and sliding to knock attempts off her ankles, and diving to pick balls off opponents’ feet.

She even denied multiple point-blank shots, including one with less than a minute to play in regulation, forcing the game into the first of two overtimes. And while she couldn’t recall all of her saves, head coach Ed Matz could – and was extremely pleased with her efforts.

“This was Annie’s best game,” he said after the shutout Sunday. “She made the hard saves, she made the easy saves, she didn’t give up any rebounds. She gave us a chance to win the game.”

The Huskies couldn’t find the game-winner to cap off either of Petrofsky’s showings, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. Northeastern outshot ODU 12-10, and while William ‘ Mary was on the better end of the official shot count, the flow of the game often favored the ladies in red.

Matz attributed the Huskies’ newfound offensive aggressiveness to the return of sophomores Sofia Palmquist and Liza Rebello. Both have been sidelined for about two weeks with ankle problems.

The pair proved their presence when Rebello knocked in a Palmquist assist to give NU a 1-0 edge midway through the first half against ODU. The lead was nixed five minutes later when the Monarchs’ Shavon Knight scored on a breakaway, but Rebello’s tally ended a four-game scoring drought for the Huskies.

“I think that she causes a lot of problems [for opponents] with a lot of high energy,” Matz said.

Both Petrofsky and Johnson said the team was motivated by teammate Jenna Lucchesi, who suffered a compound leg fracture against Towson last weekend and was sidelined for the season. The team now chants “J-Lu” at the beginning of games and halves in her honor, and hopes to see her return from her home in New York by Wednesday.

And while Tribe players hung their heads in distress after the final whistle Sunday, the Huskies were in high spirits.

“I think it comes down to we finally found the right lineup and the right people in the right places,” Petrofsky said. “We sort of just gelled together. We got sick of losing, I think.”

The Huskies are on the road this weekend, traveling to take on UNC Wilmington Friday at 7 p.m. and Georgia State Sunday at 1 p.m.