By Andrew Parente
In a year when the varsity athletic teams have high hopes and expectations, it was the club field hockey team that won the 2008 National Field Hockey League Championship.
Held this past weekend on the campus of James Madison in Harrisonberg, Va., the Huskies entered the field of eight as the No. 5 seed.
NU defeated fourth-seeded Pennsylvania in the first round, eighth-seeded Maryland in the semifinals and the sixth-seeded Virginia in the finals. Virginia was also the defending champions of the tournament.
Despite poor weather conditions, the Huskies were able to defeat the Quakers by a convincing 4-0 score in their first round game.
“The weather definitely made it a different game,” said Sarah Quinn, a middler and member of the team. “It was pouring buckets and we weren’t sure if the game was going to be canceled or delayed, but I think playing in those conditions pumped us up and made us want to win even more.”
Scoring all four goals in the first half, the Northeastern defense was solid throughout the contest and did not allow UPenn to break through.
Adam Izzicupo opened up the scoring for the Huskies, who also got goals from Meredith Harclerode, Erin Kelly and Stacey Fitzgibbons. Kelly’s goal highlighted the scoring as the team used crisp passing to set up the tally.
Harclerode got the ball to Quinn, who executed the give and go with Harclerode. She then found an open Kelly who beat the Quaker goalie for the score.
“That goal came off of a penalty corner,” Quinn said. “I saw that play used during the CAA championship a week before, we tried in practice and decided to use it in the game and it paid off for us.”
In the semifinals, NU battled a tough Maryland squad, a game that proved to be the most difficult test of the weekend for the Huskies.
The weather continued to be a problem, changing from rain to snow flurries. This was the second time the Huskies had faced the Terrapins this season, recording a 1-0 win in their previous meeting.
The Huskies got off to a fast start again, taking a two-goal lead in the first half. Goals from Rachel Berube and Izzicupo plus stellar defense gave NU the 2-0 advantage going into the half.
But the Huskies saw their two-goal lead diminish in the second half as Maryland got on the board twice to knot the game at two.
At the end of regulation time, the teams remained tied and headed into a sudden death overtime period.
Izzicupo received a pass from Ashley Hansen and broke away from the field to a one-on-one breakaway with the Maryland goalkeeper. He was able to slip the ball past the keeper to give Northeastern the 3-2 win, earning a trip to the finals.
“It was definitely an exciting win,” Quinn said. “Anytime you can win a game in overtime it makes it that much more exciting.”
Waiting for Northeastern in the finals was defending champion Virginia. The Cavaliers were eager to defend their title as they got out to an early 1-0 lead. It was the first time the Huskies surrendered the first goal in the tournament.
Northeastern wasn’t ready to give up though and Izzicupo proved again to be an offensive force. He scored the first Husky goal to tie the game at one before scoring two more goals for the hat trick and a 3-1 NU lead.
Harclerode added an insurance goal to finish the game and give Northeastern a 4-1 win.
The championship was the first national championship won by a Northeastern club team and it was also the best finish by the Huskies in the tournament in its five-year history.
“It’s definitely an awesome feeling,” Quinn said. “We lost in the first round last year and we went down there with something to prove. Finding out that we were the first Northeastern team to win a national title was very exciting too.”
