After two conference games, it looked as if the Husky field hockey team might finally relinquish its consistent perch near the top of its respective conferences. Instead, Northeastern continued to serve notice that it is still a force in the CAA with a 7-0 thrashing of overmatched CAA foe Drexel on Friday afternoon at Sweeney Field.
The Huskies played well in the opening half, establishing possession early and controlling the pace for most of the first 35 minutes. Junior Stephanie Casper had a pair of opportunities to get the team's first goal, but she could not handle two crosses from the left side. Junior assistant captain Ashley Webber also came in all alone on Drexel goaltender Colleen McAndrew, but McAndrew made the stop. Unfortunately for the Dragons, it was one of the last positive plays the team made on the day.
Casper finally began the NU scoring at the 27:44 mark when she took a cross-field pass from senior co-captain Whitney Shean and went just inside the far post. Casper's goal, her sixth of the season, temporarily tied sophomore Ashley Bascetta for the team lead.
The team's second goal before halftime came from junior assistant captain Ashley D'Ambra, who tallied her first goal of the season after breaking in all alone on McAndrew and deking to her right, allowing for an uncontested tap-in.
With the game still somewhat in doubt heading into the second half, Northeastern struck for five goals in a span of 13:04 to quickly put the game away for the home team.
Casper began the onslaught at the 44:52 mark by scoring her seventh of the season off a penalty corner by Shean and a stick-stop from D'Ambra. Webber then picked up two quick goals of her own within three minutes of each other, the first coming unassisted and the second coming off a pass from Casper.
With the game no longer in doubt, the Huskies continued to put pressure on the Dragons. At 55:45, Bascetta evened the team-scoring race once again by notching her seventh tally of the season after a scramble in front of the Drexel net. Sophomore Rachel Wilkes then put an exclamation point on the game just over two minutes later with her first goal of the season.
Lost in the offensive explosion were the statistics of Centofanti, who registered her third consecutive shutout after making two saves. Her one tense moment of the game came late in the first half, when she sprinted from her line to breakup a potential breakaway opportunity for the Dragons. Centofanti now sports a 263:57 scoreless streak and a three-game winning streak.
McAndrew had a very tough day in net for the Dragons, giving up seven goals on 25 shots. The sophomore made 13 saves as the Huskies outshot the Dragons, 25-3.
For the Huskies, the victory provides the team with a good final memory before embarking on a crucial five-game road trip. The team begins its most difficult stretch of hockey this season on Wednesday when the team travels to Storrs, Conn., to take on the No. 10 UConn Huskies at 7 p.m.
Field Hockey Box Score (Final)
2006 Northeastern Field Hockey
Drexel vs Northeastern (Oct 06, 2006 at Boston, MA)
Drexel (6-6) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Northeastern (7-6) -------------------------------
Date: Oct 06, 2006 Attendance: 93 Drexel.............. 0 0 - 0
Weather: Partly cloudy and windy Northeastern........ 2 5 - 7
Drexel Northeastern
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
G 88 McAndrew, Colleen... - - - - - G 33 Centofanti, Liz..... - - - - -
2 Chiara, Catherine... - - - - - 5 Webber, Ashley...... 5 5 2 - -
4 Gostomski, Sarah.... - - - - - 7 Bascetta, Ashley.... 4 4 1 - -
6 Horvat, Emily....... - - - - - 10 Eckhoff, Sarah...... 1 - - - -
8 Bolger, Jennifer.... - - - - - 11 Hazelzet, Suzanne... 1 1 - - -
12 Gibernau, Carolina.. - - - - - 13 Casper, Stephanie... 4 3 2 2 -
14 Walton, Karie....... 1 - - - - 16 Wilkes, Jillian..... - - - - -
15 Prentiss, Cassandra. - - - - - 17 D'Ambra, Ashley..... 3 2 1 1 -
18 Enck, Whitney....... - - - - - 21 Hewlett, Montana.... - - - - -
27 Bloemker, Heather... - - - - - 24 Shean, Whitney...... - - - 2 -
76 Mouser, Casey....... 2 2 - - - 27 Troxel, Megan....... - - - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
1 Kicera, Amanda...... - - - - - 18 Bernstein, Heather.. - - - - -
19 Wachter, Amanda..... - - - - - 20 Hoyer, Harriet...... 3 2 - - -
22 Freese, Jordan...... - - - - - 25 Wilkes, Rachel...... 4 3 1 - -
24 Palilonis, Amy...... - - - - - 26 Earley, Joy......... - - - - -
Totals.............. 3 2 0 0 0 Totals.............. 25 20 7 5 0
Drexel Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
88 McAndrew, Colleen... 70:00 7 13 33 Centofanti, Liz..... 70:00 0 2
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 TotB
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Drexel.............. 2 1 - 3 Drexel.............. 3 10 - 13
Northeastern........ 6 19 - 25 Northeastern........ 2 0 - 2
Penalty corners 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
Drexel.............. 1 1 - 2
Northeastern........ 2 8 - 10
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 27:44 NU Casper, Stephanie Shean, Whitney
2. 30:18 NU D'Ambra, Ashley Unassisted breakaway, deked past goalie
3. 44:52 NU Casper, Stephanie D'Ambra, Ashley; Shean, Whitney off a penalty corner
4. 48:33 NU Webber, Ashley Unassisted
5. 50:15 NU Webber, Ashley Casper, Stephanie
6. 55:45 NU Bascetta, Ashley Unassisted scramble in front
7. 57:56 NU Wilkes, Rachel Casper, Stephanie
PLAYER CARDS:
Officials: Jade Carvalho; Pat Hayes; Scorer: Steve Sheridan;
Offsides: Drexel 0, Northeastern 0.
