Junior Liane Dixon scored her first two goals of 2003, and 29th and 30th of her career to move into 10th place on the Northeastern career goals list, as the Huskies cruised to a 5-1 victory over visiting Ohio at Sweeney Field.
After the Bobcats (0-2) jumped out on top with a goal in the first five minutes of play, the Huskies (2-2) answered with five unanswered goals for the win. All three NU senior captains contributed with points, as Sara Webber had a goal and an assist, Leigh Shea assisted on two goals, and Melissa Rowell tallied her third goal of the season.
"We needed that," said NU coach Cheryl Murtagh, whose team fell the day before to 2001 national champion Michigan, 4-3. "We still can't let teams jump ahead on us like that. We have to pick up on defense early in the game. I was pleased with the way we moved the ball and had good passing both defensively and on attack."
The game was also a homecoming for Ohio head coach Shelly Morris, who played for Murtagh at Northeastern, helping the Huskies to two America East titles and four straight NCAA tournament appearances.
"Shelly and I have a good relationship and it's tough to see her on the other side," Murtagh said. "But, it's a compliment to our program and nice to see a Northeastern grad doing so well. She's doing a great job at Ohio."
Ohio's Tanja Konijn opened the scoring when she rifled a shot of a penalty corner play into the corner of the goal past outstretched NU goalie Diana Nelson (three saves) at 4:59. Chelsea Mearig was the stick-stop and Elizabeth Holtzman put the ball into play.
The Bobcats' goal was a wakeup call for the Huskies, who retaliated immediately with a goal by Dixon at 6:37. Shea started the play, dribbling past an Ohio defender just outside the circle and drawing another defender near her before sending a pass to Dixon in front of the goal.
Rowell put NU on top with a blast off a penalty corner that deflected off OU keeper Ashley Pitkin (six saves) and into the net. Shea and Mari Creatini assisted on the play.
The Huskies opened the second half with a barrage of shots in the Bobcat end and drew four consecutive corners. NU capitalized on the fourth, when Dixon netted her second goal of the game, deflecting a pass from striker Webber into the cage five minutes into the second stanza.
Northeastern continued to pressure Ohio in its end and the aggressive tactics paid off again at 21:46 of the second half. Jay Quinn sent a pass to the near post to an open Natalie Singelais, who redirected the pass to the far post and into the cage to put the Huskies up 4-1.
The relentless NU onslaught continued to pay off in the second half, as Webber scored her first goal of the season with 12:15 remaining in regulation. Instead of taking a shot off a corner play, Webber dribbled toward the goal, before unleashing an unstoppable blast from 10 yards out.
The Huskies dominated all statistical categories, outshooting the Bobcats, 13-5, and holding a 12-4 penalty corner advantage.
Ohio Northeastern
Pos. # Player Sh G A Pos. # Player Sh G A
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
G 1 Ashley Pitkin....... - - - G 77 Diana Nelson........ - - -
F 2 Elizabeth Holtzman.. - - 1 F 3 Sara Webber......... 5 1 1
F 6 Chelsea Mearig...... 1 - 1 F 4 Liane Dixon......... 3 2 -
B 8 Amanda Freeman...... - - - B 5 Leigh Shea.......... - - 2
M 12 Tanja Konijn........ 1 1 - F 9 Mari Creatini....... 2 - 1
F 13 Taylor Edwards...... 1 - - F 14 Natalie Singelais... 2 1 -
M 15 Kristen Hann........ 1 - - B 15 Melissa Rowell...... 1 1 -
M 17 Sarah Resch......... - - - B 20 Alli Bolster........ - - -
B 18 Kara Webster........ - - - B 21 Megan Troxel........ - - -
B 19 Danielle Jenness.... - - - B 22 Lauren Edelmeier.... - - -
F 21 Lindsay Rothenberger 1 - - F 24 Whitney Shean....... - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
4 Erica Bundalo....... - - - 10 Sarah Eckhoff....... - - -
5 Becky Lempke........ - - - 16 Nicole DePace....... - - -
7 Colleen Marshall.... - - - 19 Jay Quinn........... - - 1
23 Amanda Arnold....... - - - 23 Joy Earley.......... - - -
Totals.............. 5 1 2 Totals.............. 13 5 5
Ohio Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
1 Ashley Pitkin....... 70:00 5 6 77 Diana Nelson........ 70:00 1 3
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Ohio................ 3 2 - 5 Ohio................ 2 4 - 6
Northeastern........ 6 7 - 13 Northeastern........ 2 1 - 3
Penalty corners 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Ohio................ 2 2 - 4 Ohio................ 0 0 - 0
Northeastern........ 3 9 - 12 Northeastern........ 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team ## Goal Scorer Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 3:59 OU 12 Tanja Konijn (1) 6 Chelsea Mearig/2 Elizabeth Holtzman
2. 6:37 NU 4 Liane Dixon (1) 5 Leigh Shea
3. 20:48 NU 15 Melissa Rowell (3) 5 Leigh Shea/9 Mari Creatini
4. 40:13 NU 4 Liane Dixon (2) 3 Sara Webber
5. 48:14 NU 14 Natalie Singelais (2) 19 Jay Quinn
6. 57:45 NU 3 Sara Webber (1) Unassisted
