In a game that 100 minutes of action could not decide, Northeastern sophomore Rachel Wilkes scored the game-winning tally in a stroke-off as the Husky field hockey team defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 2-1.
In the strokeoff, both teams made their first two attempts. In the third round, both NU freshman Suzanne Hazelzet and VCU senior Ashley Cadwallader were stopped. VCU keeper Brittany LoVullo made a diving stop to her left to give her team a temporary edge, but NU junior goalkeeper Liz Centofanti made a waist-high stop on Cadwallader's shot, keeping the strokeoff knotted at two after three rounds. Senior Natalie Singelais then went top-corner to make the score 3-2 in favor of NU, and VCU's Vicky Smith missed the cage to the left, setting the stage for Wilkes' winning fifth-round shot.
For Virginia Commonwealth, the loss spoiled a superb performance by LoVullo, who made a multitude of brilliant saves to keep her team in the game. Northeastern's Stephanie Casper tallied her team-high ninth goal of the season in the 11th minute off a scramble in front of LoVullo, but after that point she was spectacular in net for the Rams.
It looked as if the Rams might lose the game outright in regulation, as the Huskies dominated play for large periods of time but could not find a way to get the ball into the net. In the opening half, Northeastern outshot the Rams by a 12-2 margin, as well as holding a huge 13-2 edge in penalty corners, but LoVullo held strong to keep her team in the game.
In the second half, VCU supplied its goalie with a goal to work with. Off of a broken penalty corner, VCU sophomore Nikki Lloyd scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season from about nine yards out, as the ball squeaked through the pads of Centofanti and just made it over the goal line. Lloyd's shot was the only shot of the second half for the visitors, but it was enough to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, LoVullo made one huge save to keep the game going. In the 78th minute, NU junior Ashley Webber walked in all alone after deking two Ram defenders, but LoVullo stuffed her point blank to keep the game knotted at one.
The second overtime saw the VCU keeper make two more amazing saves, as she again stuffed Webber streaking in alone from the left side with a sprawling save to her right at the 86:53 mark. Less than a minute later, NU senior co-captain Whitney Shean had two chances right in front of the VCU net, but LoVullo refused both attempts.
Later in the second overtime, the Rams very nearly won the game themselves. With 4:17 remaining, VCU's Angelina Banaag found herself wide open to the right of the Husky goal and she took a shot that beat Centofanti to her right, but the shot banged off the inside of the left post and somehow caromed across the crease and out from behind Centofanti. The Rams began to storm the field thinking that the game was over, but play was never halted and the teams continued playing until time ran out and the game went into the strokeoff.
LoVullo made 12 saves for the Rams in a valiant effort, while Centofanti was only forced to make one save in 100 minutes. The Huskies held an incredible 34-5 advantage in shots, as well as an amazing 32-3 edge in penalty corners, and yet the home team could not convert on one of those 32 penalty corners and barely escaped Sweeney Field with a victory.
With the victory, the Huskies move to 4-3 in conference play while the Rams are officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 2-5 conference mark. Combined with losses by Towson and Delaware on Friday evening, the Huskies clinched a spot in the CAA Tournament with the win. The team will conclude its 2006 regular season on Sunday when the team celebrates its 2007 senior class prior to its matchup with No. 15 James Madison at 2 p.m. at Sweeney Field.
Field Hockey Box Score (Final)
2006 Northeastern Field Hockey
Va. Commonwealth vs Northeastern (Oct 27, 2006 at Boston, MA)
Va. Commonwealth (4-14, 2-5 CAA) vs. Goals by period 1 2 OT O2 SO Tot
Northeastern (9-10, 4-3 CAA) ----------------------------------------
Date: Oct 27, 2006 Attendance: 156 Va. Commonwealth.... 0 1 0 0 0 - 1
Weather: Sunny and cool Northeastern........ 1 0 0 0 1 - 2
Va. Commonwealth Northeastern
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
G 23 LoVullo, Brittany... - - - - - G 33 Centofanti, Liz..... - - - - -
1 Cadwallader, Ashley. - - - 1 - 5 Webber, Ashley...... 6 4 - - -
3 Collis, Alyssa...... - - - - - 7 Bascetta, Ashley.... 6 2 - - -
6 Lloyd, Nikki........ 3 2 1 - - 10 Eckhoff, Sarah...... 6 1 - - -
10 Vernetti, Alaina.... - - - - - 11 Hazelzet, Suzanne... 3 - - - -
15 Harris, Jenna....... - - - - - 13 Casper, Stephanie... 8 3 1 - -
16 Kelly, Amanda....... - - - - - 14 Singelais, Natalie.. - - - - -
18 Guerra, Emily....... 1 - - - - 16 Wilkes, Jillian..... - - - - -
21 Sullivan, Rebecca... - - - - - 17 D'Ambra, Ashley..... 1 - - - -
26 Osinga, Emilie...... - - - - - 24 Shean, Whitney...... 4 4 - - -
28 Banaag, Angelina.... 1 - - - - 27 Troxel, Megan....... - - - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
4 Shacklette, Lindsay. - - - - - 20 Hoyer, Harriet...... - - - - -
7 Smith, Vicky........ - - - - - 21 Hewlett, Montana.... - - - - -
22 Sauder, Megan....... - - - - - 25 Wilkes, Rachel...... - - - - -
24 Hart, Cheryl........ - - - - - 26 Earley, Joy......... - - - - -
Totals.............. 5 2 1 1 0 Totals.............. 34 14 1 0 0
Va. Commonwealth Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
23 LoVullo, Brittany... 100:00 1 12 33 Centofanti, Liz..... 100:00 1 1
TM TEAM................ 0:00 0 1
Shots by period 1 2 OT O2 SO Tot Saves by period 1 2 OT O2 SO Tot
---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
Va. Commonwealth.... 2 1 0 2 0 - 5 Va. Commonwealth.... 4 3 1 5 0 - 13
Northeastern........ 12 11 5 6 0 - 34 Northeastern........ 1 0 0 0 0 - 1
Penalty corners 1 2 OT O2 SO Tot Stroke-off results:
---------------------------------------- VCU: 6/Y 26/Y 1/N 7/N
Va. Commonwealth.... 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 NU: 24/Y 10/Y 11/N 14/Y 25/GWG
Northeastern........ 13 10 5 4 0 - 32
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 10:48 NU Casper, Stephanie (9) Unassisted off scramble in front
2. 48:27 VCU Lloyd, Nikki (9) Cadwallader, Ashley off a broken penalty corner
3. 100:00 NU Wilkes, Rachel Shoot-out goal
PLAYER CARDS:
Officials: Leslie Boucher; Barb Carriero; Scorer: Steve Sheridan;
Offsides: Va. Commonwealth 0, Northeastern 0.
Northeastern wins in penalty strokes, 4-2
