Northeastern junior Mari Creatini exploded for three second-half goals, but that still wasn't enough to overcome a 3-0 deficit, as the Huskies had their 15-game, home winning streak snapped by visiting Michigan, 4-3, at Sweeney Field.
The Wolverines (1-2) capitalized on some nifty passing in the crease to post their first victory of the season and remain unbeaten (6-0) against the Huskies. NU (1-2) hadn't lost at Sweeney Field since Oct. 12, 2001 and are now 21-4 at home since moving from Parsons Field prior to the 2001 season.
"To go down 3-0 and still feel we're in the game means we weren't executing well and finishing our plays," said NU head coach Cheryl Murtagh. "We were a little hurried in our offensive zone and that's why we were unable to finish."> The Huskies found themselves trailing, 3-0, with 20 minutes to play when Michigan's Jill Civic deflected a corner strike from Stephanie Jones over outstretched NU goalie Diana Nelson. Murtagh then called a timeout to stop the momentum.
After the brief break, the Huskies seemed to get their second wind. Creatini stole the ball from a Michigan defender and raced down the field on a breakaway. She dribbled past keeper Molly Maloney and snuck a shot into the far corner of the cage to break the NU drought at 56:39.
Three minutes later, Creatini tipped in a pass from Sara Webber off a penalty corner play to cut the deficit to one with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
However, the Wolverines answered 16 seconds later with Jill Civic's second goal of the game on another crossing play. April Fronzoni, who put Michigan up 2-0 on a rebound at the 46:43 mark, assisted on the play.
"The last Michigan goal really hurt us," Murtagh said. "To get back into the game, then let them score right away is tough mentally."
The Huskies weren't done yet though. Two minutes later, after a failed corner play, Melissa Rowell dove to the ground 10 feet in front of the Michigan net to knock the ball toward the post to an awaiting Creatini, who sent the ball home to draw NU within one again at 62:02.
"It was a matter of finishing our opportunities," Murtagh said. "I think early in the game we didn't score on our chances and Michigan did when they had their chances. They're a good team."
Northeastern tried to rally over the final eight minutes and almost knotted the score with four minutes remaining. Natalie Singelais found a loose ball in front of the Michigan goal and shot the ball past Maloney, only to have Adrienne Hortillosa come up with a game-saving defensive save.
Michigan went into halftime with a 1-0 lead after Lori Hillman knocked home a pass across the goal front from Jessica Blake at the 29:36 mark. Meanwhile, NU couldn't finish any of its quality chances in the first period, as Maloney came up with three big stops.
Other than the scoreboard, the teams were evenly matched with play going from end-to-end throughout the contest. Both squads had eight penalty corners and Michigan held a slight edge in shots, 12-11.
Michigan Northeastern
Pos. # Player Sh G A Pos. # Player Sh G A
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
G 1 Molly Maloney....... - - - G 77 Diana Nelson........ - - -
B 2 Lori Hillman........ 2 1 - F 3 Sara Webber......... 5 - 1
B 5 Kate Dillon......... - - - F 4 Liane Dixon......... - - -
B 6 Kristi Gannon....... - - - B 5 Leigh Shea.......... - - -
M 8 Katy Moyneur........ - - - F 9 Mari Creatini....... 4 3 -
M 11 Laura Woitkewitsch.. 1 - - F 14 Natalie Singelais... 1 - -
F 12 April Fronzoni...... 1 1 1 B 15 Melissa Rowell...... 1 - 1
F 13 Jill Civic.......... 2 2 - B 20 Alli Bolster........ - - -
B 16 Stephanie Johnson... 1 - 1 B 21 Megan Troxel........ - - -
F 19 Adrienne Hortillosa. 1 - - B 22 Lauren Edelmeier.... - - -
M 21 Jessica Blake....... 2 - 1 F 24 Whitney Shean....... - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
4 Mary Fox............ - - - 16 Nicole DePace....... - - -
7 Lauren MacMillan.... - - - 19 Jay Quinn........... - - -
9 Eleanor Martin...... - - -
10 Jennifer Zangara.... 1 - - Totals.............. 11 3 2
15 Kara Lentz.......... 1 - -
17 Catherine Pickard... - - -
20 Erika Banuelos...... - - -
24 Anneke Huntzicker... - - -
Totals.............. 12 4 3
Michigan Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
1 Molly Maloney....... 70:00 3 4 77 Diana Nelson........ 70:00 4 4
TM TEAM................ 0:00 0 1
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Michigan............ 4 8 - 12 Michigan............ 3 2 - 5
Northeastern........ 4 7 - 11 Northeastern........ 1 3 - 4
Penalty corners 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Michigan............ 2 6 - 8 Michigan............ 0 0 - 0
Northeastern........ 3 5 - 8 Northeastern........ 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team ## Goal Scorer Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 29:36 UMICH 2 Lori Hillman (1) 21 Jessica Blake
2. 46:43 UMICH 12 April Fronzoni (2) Unassisted
3. 50:00 UMICH 13 Jill Civic (2) 16 Stephanie Johnson
4. 56:39 NU 9 Mari Creatini (1) Unassisted
5. 59:48 NU 9 Mari Creatini (2) 3 Sara Webber
6. 60:04 UMICH 13 Jill Civic (3) 12 April Fronzoni
7. 62:02 NU 9 Mari Creatini (3) 15 Melissa Rowell
