"I think it was important for us to play well at home after we've been away," said Northeastern head coach Cheryl Murtagh. The team went 3-2 over its last five games, which were all on the road.

Creatini wasted no time getting the Huskies on the board with the first shot of the game at 5:12. She took the feed from sophomore Liane Dixon to make the score 1-0.

NU continued to dominate play for most of the first half, keeping the action on the Brown side of the field, but the Bears' defense was able to hold off the Husky efforts and keep the score at 1-0. Brown's Lizzie Buza darted through several Huskies to break up a well set up penalty corner, while goalie Kathryn Noe stopped four NU shots to spearhead the defensive effort before the Bears called a timeout with 10:03 remaining in the period.

Once play resumed, the Huskies continued to control the game but the Brown defense held up on the backbone of Noe's play. She was able to stop a rocket backhander by Sarah Broderick, as well as two other NU shots on goal.

Brown's only offensive efforts of the half came on two fruitless penalty corners and a few journeys into Husky territory that were quicky dispatched by the NU defense.

The first half had yet to close when Northeastern's Broderick was able to find a hole in the defense's armor with two seconds remaining.

"It was a tough goal, but we just stopped playing and it went in," said Brown coach Carolan Norris.

Broderick's goal was assisted by Jay Quinn and made the score 2-0 heading into the break after the Huskies outshot the Bears 10-2 in the first half.

Creatini got the second half started the same way as the first, scoring her second goal of the afternoon only 1:13 into the period. She netted a pass from senior Fior Arrindell to finish off a penalty corner, which she started herself. The goal made the score 3-0. It was also the first shot of the second half.

Following the game, Creatini, who leads the team with 20 points this season, credited her teammates for her success.

"Every game is like this, the whole team is contributing and it's just whoever is in the right place at the right time," Creatini said.

Northeastern continued to dominate play but the Brown defense was strong enough to hold off the Husky attack, which included four penalty corners. Although the Huskies kept the action in Brown territory, the Bears' defense was able to stifle NU's attempts and hold them to four shots.

"Defensively, as a unit, we held up under some pressure," said Norris, who also said she thought NU played like one of the top teams in the nation.

Brown managed to get into NU zone in the later stages of the game but the Husky defense only allowed two shots. Brown had one last chance to get on the board with penalty corner, but NU's Leigh Shea broke up the play as the clock ran out.

The Huskies look to continue their success as they travel to Harvard on Wednesday. The game begins at 2 p.m. in Allston.

Scoring:
First Half:
NU, Mari Creatini (Liane Dixon) 29:48
NU, Sarah Broderick (Jay Quinn) 0:02

Second Half:
NU, Mari Creatini (Fior Arrindell) 28:47

Shots
Brown, 4
Northeastern, 14

Penalty Corners
Brown, 6
Northeastern, 8