"It's a tough loss for our six seniors," said NU coach Cheryl Murtagh. "To see them dominate the possession and take (Michigan State) to overtime and lose like that is tough. It's too bad we couldn't finish in regulation or overtime."

After remaining tied through 100 minutes of intense play in horrible weather conditions, the teams were forced to decide the game in strokeoff competition. Although NU senior goalie Emily Roy made a great foot stop on MSU's third shot, it wasn't enough. Sophomore Mari Creatini hit the left post on NU's first stroke, senior Fior Arrindell sent her shot wide left, and junior Leigh Shea also knocked her shot off the left post of the cage to give the Spartans a 3-2 edge.

"I was pretty confident," Arrindell said of the team's chances heading into the strokeoff. "We do it everyday in practice. It was one of the best games we've played all year. It was unfortunate that it ended this way."

Northeastern (18-4) finishes the season with the highest win total since the 1996 campaign, when the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Michigan State improves to 23-2 and moves on to play Wake Forest in the Final Four at the University of Louisville.

"We all wanted to make it to the Final Four, that was our goal from the start of the season," said Arrindell, who suited up for her last game as a Husky. "Since day one the team's done everything we've asked of them both on and off the field and it showed great dedication and commitment to the program. I'm really proud of them. It's been a great senior year."

The Huskies dominated in overtime. They maintained an aggressive attack over the tired Spartans. NU outshot MSU 10-3 in extra time and earned five penalty corners to the Spartan's three. In the second overtime alone, the Huskies outshot MSU, 7-1.

"We had depth and wanted to keep fresh players out there," Murtagh said, who made frequent substitutions in overtime. "I think it was working for us, (Michigan State) was getting tired. Unfortunately, we weren't poised in front of the goal."

Northeastern had its best opportunity to end the game with five minutes left in the first overtime. Creatini and Liane Dixon slipped through the Spartans' defense on a 2-on-1 breakaway and just had MSU goalie Christina Kirkaldy to beat, but the MSU keeper raced out of the net to challenge the tandem and thwarted Dixon's shot.

"(Northeastern) was able to keep possession for most of the overtime," said Michigan State coach Michele Madison. "We got great play from Cynthia (Martin) and our goalie, which allowed us to stay in it. The game brought out the best in both teams and that's what you want in a championship game."

At the eight-minute mark of the second overtime, Kirkaldy came up with another great save on a Broderick blast off a penalty corner. Just minutes later, MSU's Cynthia Martin cleared a shot from Webber as it was rolling toward the goal line.

"I don't know what more I could have expected from these kids," Murtagh said. "We saw Michigan State score four goals in the first half against Harvard and we shut them down. It took us a little while to get going, but we had a great passing attack and created a lot of scoring chances."

The game featured the top two defenses and goalies in the NCAA and both proved their worth over the course of the game. Roy finished with a season-high 11 saves, while Kirkaldy made six. Both teams also recorded defensive saves.

With 10 minutes left in regulation, Roy made a diving save off a penalty corner shot from MSU's Annebet Beerman. With Roy still trying to get back into position, Judith van Haeringen fired the rebound into the open net only to have Arrindell come up with an amazing stick save to prevent the goal.

Neither team recorded a shot or penalty corner through the first 15 minutes of action. After both teams settled down, the Huskies offense went on the attack. Dixon knocked a shot that was saved by Kirkaldy. Then, with 11:45 remaining, Sara Webber stole the ball from an MSU defender, dribbled into the circle and unleashed a blast that was deflected just wide of the far post.

The Spartans mounted a counterattack and earned their first corner of the match with 10 minutes left before the break. MSU continued on the offensive and kept play in the Husky end. On the Spartans' fourth corner, van Haeringen rocketed a shot at the top of the circle that ricocheted off a Husky defenders' stick and into the top of the cage at 3:59.

The Huskies answered 1:29 later, when Dixon knocked in a rebound after Kirkaldy stopped Creatini in front of the goal. The score remained knotted 1-1 going into the halftime.

Scoring:
First Half:
MSU, Judith van Haeringen (Jenny Sanders, Julia Adams) 3:59
NU, Liane Dixon (Mari Creatini) 2:30

Second Half:
No scoring.

Overtime:
No scoring:

Strokeoff Competition:
NU, Mari Creatini (hit left post)
MSU, Julia Adams (good)
NU, Sara Broderick (good)
MSU, Alexandra Kyser (good)
NU, Sara Webber (good)>br> MSU, Sophie Rosmalen (kick save by Roy)
NU, Fior Arrindell (wide left)
MSU, Annebet Beerman (good)
NU, Leigh Shea (left post)

Shots:
Northeastern, 16
Michigan State, 19

Penalty Corners:
Northeastern, 8
Michigan State, 12

Defensive Saves:
Northeastern, 1
Michigan State, 1