The fourth-seeded Northeastern field hockey team saw its 2006 season come to a close on Saturday afternoon, as the team was defeated by top-seeded and national No. 3 Old Dominion, 7-0, in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. With the loss, the Huskies' record dropped to 10-12 on the season, while Old Dominion raised its mark to 19-2.
In the beginning of the contest, both teams started out slowly as the play remained largely at midfield. Slowly, however, Old Dominion began to assert itself offensively against the Huskies.
ODU's Nicolien van Nispen took the game's first shot and rang it off the right post. For about the next seven minutes, the Lady Monarchs kept the ball almost exclusively in the NU end, taking three penalty corners and keeping the Huskies on the defensive.
At the 19:51 mark, Old Dominion broke through the NU defense for the game's first goal. Darcy Pinchbeck opened the scoring by taking a ball from the left side and shooting it into the far corner of the net, beating junior Northeastern goaltender Liz Centofanti. Less than four minutes later, the Huskies got their only scoring chance of the first half after junior assistant captain Ashley Webber forced a penalty corner by sprinting towards the ODU net. The shot of senior co-captain Sarah Eckhoff, however, was saved by ODU netminder Kelly Driscoll.
Towards the end of the half, the Lady Monarchs scored twice in a span of 3:14 to put the Huskies in a hole heading into halftime. After a shot off a penalty corner, ODU's Jo Ann van Aswegen tipped the ball over a prone Centofanti, giving the Lady Monarchs their second goal. At the 31:26 mark, CAA Player of the Year Caroline Nichols scored the same way by tipping the ball over Centofanti.
Northeastern began the second half by gaining the first scoring chance, as the Huskies earned a penalty corner in the first minute of the half. Old Dominion came right back down the field, however, and Nicolien van Nispen scored her tenth goal of the season 2:35 into the half.
With the game slipping away, the Lady Monarchs continued to press the advantage, scoring three more times in the second half. After an ODU shot headed into the net was deflected by a Husky defender's foot, ODU forward Dana Sensenig scored her fifth penalty stroke tally of the season at the 10:15 mark of the second half to make the score 5-0. The Lady Monarchs scored two more goals to account for the final score.
The top-seeded Lady Monarchs controlled the game, out-shooting the Huskies by a margin of 21-2 and holding a 9-3 edge in penalty corners. The Northeastern defense, which played so well for most of the season, was simply unable to keep up with the relentless pressure from the ODU attack.
The loss marked the final collegiate game for Northeastern's six seniors: Whitney Shean, Sarah Eckhoff, Natalie Singelais, Joy Earley, Megan Troxel and Heather Bernstein. The Huskies, ending the season with an overall record of 10-12, finished the season below .500 for only the third time in the program's history, with the last time coming in 1999, when the team went 8-12. The team, however, still managed to avoid the program's first losing conference mark with its 4-4 mark in the CAA.
Field Hockey Box Score (Final)
NU vs #3 Old Dominion (Nov 04, 2006 at Virginia Beach, Va.)
NU (10-12) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Old Dominion (19-2) -------------------------------
Date: Nov 04, 2006 Attendance: NU.................. 0 0 - 0
Weather: sunny, cool, light breeze Old Dominion........ 3 4 - 7
NU Old Dominion
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS Pos # Player Sh SOG G A DS
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
GK 33 Centofanti, Liz..... - - - - - GK 22 Driscoll, Kelly..... - - - - -
5 Webber, Ashley...... - - - - - 2 van Aswegen, Jo Ann. 4 2 1 - -
7 Bascetta, Ashley.... - - - - - 4 Admiraal, Daphne.... - - - - -
10 Eckhoff, Sarah...... 2 1 - - - 5 van Nispen, Nicolien 3 2 1 1 -
11 Hazelzet, Suzanne... - - - - - 6 McLenegan, Sami..... - - - - -
13 Casper, Stephanie... - - - - - 9 Pinchbeck, Darcy.... 1 1 1 - -
14 Singelais, Natalie.. - - - - - 13 Admiraal, Denise.... 2 2 1 - -
16 Wilkes, Jillian..... - - - - - 14 Sensenig, Dana...... 3 3 2 1 -
17 D'Ambra, Ashley..... - - - - - 18 Mobley, Shannon..... - - - - -
24 Shean, Whitney...... - - - - - 20 Nichols, Caroline... 5 5 1 1 -
27 Troxel, Megan....... - - - - - 23 Smither, Katelyn.... 1 1 - 1 -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
18 Bernstein, Heather.. - - - - - 7 Rogers, Anna........ - - - - -
20 Hoyer, Harriet...... - - - - - 10 Ueberroth, Katie.... 1 - - 1 -
21 Hewlett, Montana.... - - - - - 11 Tossone, Whitney.... - - - - -
25 Wilkes, Rachel...... - - - - - 16 Shea, Kathleen...... - - - - -
Totals.............. 2 1 0 0 0 17 Beek, Titia......... 1 - - - -
24 Warren, Hanna....... - - - - -
Totals.............. 21 16 7 5 0
NU Old Dominion
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
33 Centofanti, Liz..... 70:00 7 9 22 Driscoll, Kelly..... 70:00 0 1
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
NU.................. 1 1 - 2 NU.................. 4 5 - 9
Old Dominion........ 9 12 - 21 Old Dominion........ 1 0 - 1
Penalty corners 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
NU.................. 1 2 - 3
Old Dominion........ 5 4 - 9
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 19:51 ODU Pinchbeck, Darcy (9) Nichols, Caroline left side of cage off feed from top of c
2. 28:12 ODU van Aswegen, Jo Ann (6) Unassisted tip in front of net on penalty corner
3. 31:26 ODU Nichols, Caroline (10) Smither, Katelyn; Sensenig, Dana penalty corner
4. 37:35 ODU van Nispen, Nicolien (10 Unassisted right side of net middle of circle
5. 45:15 ODU Sensenig, Dana Penalty shot
6. 55:24 ODU Sensenig, Dana (17) van Nispen, Nicolien option on the penalty corner; tip from l
7. 56:48 ODU Admiraal, Denise (13) Ueberroth, Katie
PLAYER CARDS:
YC-ODU #23 (49:30)
Officials: Sally Edinger; Willem Mijnarends; Jade Carvalho-table; Scorer: Kimberly Zivkovich;
Offsides: NU 0, Old Dominion 0.
No. 1 Old Dominion advances to CAA Final
Will face winner of No. 2 JMU/ No. 3 Hofstra Sun @ 1p.m.
Northeastern ends season at 10-12
