Junior Liane Dixon scored two goals to lead two-time defending America East champion Northeastern to a 3-1 victory over Boston University in the semifinals of the America East tournament at Sweeney Field Friday afternoon.
The ninth-ranked Huskies advance to the conference champioinship for the 13th time in the 14-year history of America East competition and will face the winner of the New Hampshire-Maine game. NU is 21-4 in conference tournament and has never lost a semifinal contest. The Huskies have won an America East best eight titles.
"It's a great win," said NU coach Cheryl Murtagh. "The America East tournament is tough and we have respect for every team in it. We knew it was going to be a battle."
Dixon opened the scoring with 6:46 left before the break. Senior Sara Webber passed across the BU goal to Jay Quinn, who slid the ball to Dixon while falling. Dixon reached out with her stick and managed to deflect the ball past BU keeper Erin Prediger (six saves).
"We stuck to our game plan, defending the long ball and sticking to the fundamentals," Dixon said. "We'll need another strong effort in the championship game."
With 1:22 remaining before intermission, NU managed to capitalize on its fifth corner of the first half. Senior Melissa Rowell collected her blocked shot and fired it into the back of the cage to give the Huskies a 2-0 halftime edge.
Northeastern controlled the first half of play, outshooting the Terriers, 6-0, and holding a 5-0 edge in penalty corners. However, Boston U. didn't go down without a fight.
The Terriers earned five straight penalty corners in the second half and scored on the fifth to cut their deficit in half. Whitney Peabody knocked the ball off a corner shot that bounced over a outstretched Husky goalie Diana Nelson (one save). Dalinda Banuelos and Lindsey Domers assisted.
The BU goal served as a wake-up call for Northeastern, who regained control of the game. Over the final stretch, the Huskies outshot the Terriers, 3-0, and earned the final four corners of the game.
"Our corner execution was good and we were getting good shots off," Murtagh said. "We had better passing and ball possession in the second half and we were more settled defensively."
Dixon added an insurance goal with 14:08 left in the contest on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Junior Mari Creatini stole the ball from a BU defender then rushed the top of the circle with Dixon. Creatini waited for Prediger to rush out, then sent the ball to Dixon, who one-timed the ball into the open net. Creatini, the nation's leading scorer, registered her 70th point of the season with the assist.
"Liane hustled out there and had some great touches," Murtagh said. "The third goal was a great play."
The winner of Sunday's championship game earns an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Boston U. (9-11) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Northeastern (16-5) -------------------------------
Date: Nov 07, 2003 Attendance: 324 Boston U............ 0 1 - 1
Weather: Clear skies, high 50's Northeastern........ 2 1 - 3
Boston U. Northeastern
Pos # Player Sh G A DS Pos # Player Sh G A DS
----------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
G 84 Erin Prediger....... - - - - G 77 Diana Nelson........ - - - -
M 2 Genna Clough........ - - - - F 3 Sara Webber......... 1 - - -
M 4 Whitney Peabody..... 1 1 - - F 4 Liane Dixon......... 2 2 - -
F 5 Dalinda Banuelos.... 1 - 1 - B 5 Leigh Shea.......... - - - -
M 6 Erin Burke-Webster.. - - - - F 9 Mari Creatini....... 2 - 1 -
M 7 Colleen McClay...... - - - - M 10 Sarah Eckhoff....... - - - -
M 8 Lindsey Domers...... - - 1 - B 15 Melissa Rowell...... 2 1 - -
F 9 Kara Rossi.......... - - - - M 19 Jay Quinn........... 1 - 1 -
F 10 Natalie DiSabato.... - - - - B 20 Alli Bolster........ - - - -
B 12 Lauren Vendetti..... - - - - B 22 Lauren Edelmeier.... - - - -
M 23 Celeste Hubbard..... - - - - B 27 Megan Troxel........ - - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
3 Caitlyn Cassara..... - - - - 14 Natalie Singelais... - - - -
Totals.............. 2 1 2 0 24 Whitney Shean....... 1 - - -
Totals.............. 9 3 2 0
Boston U. Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
84 Erin Prediger....... 70:00 3 6 77 Diana Nelson........ 70:00 1 1
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Boston U............ 0 2 - 2 Boston U............ 4 2 - 6
Northeastern........ 6 3 - 9 Northeastern........ 0 1 - 1
Penalty corners 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
Boston U............ 0 5 - 5
Northeastern........ 5 4 - 9
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 28:14 NU Liane Dixon (10) Jay Quinn
2. 33:38 NU Melissa Rowell (8) Unassisted
3. 36:30 BU Whitney Peabody (2) Dalinda Banuelos; Lindsey Domers
4. 55:52 NU Liane Dixon (11) Mari Creatini
