Box score

The Northeastern Huskies came up short in their comeback bid against Hofstra on Friday afternoon, falling to the Pride 4-2 in Hempstead, N.Y. Hofstra jumped out to a 3-0 first half lead, before freshman Nicola Graham and sophomore Kaela Barker cut the deficit to one with 28 minutes remaining. Hofstra was able to salt the game away, however, when Ashleigh Daniels added an insurance goal in the 46th minute.

The Pride had just four shots on goal in the game, but managed to make every one count on the scoreboard. With the victory, Hofstra improved to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the CAA, jumping over the Huskies (9-7, 3-2 CAA) in the conference standings.

The first 23 minutes of the game were forgettable for NU, as Hofstra tallied three goals to put a stranglehold on the match. Senior Kristin Thompson put the Pride ahead at the 9:43 mark, taking a pass from junior Nancy Wagenbrenner and depositing the ball behind Husky keeper Lizzie Priest.

The Pride kept its collective foot on the accelerator, jumping ahead 2-0 less than five minutes later. Junior Amy-Lee Levey was the architect of the goal, feeding sophomore Arielle Williams for her second goal of the season.

Northeastern could not stop the bleeding there. Hofstra junior Genna Kovar soured the Huskies' position even further when she fired an unassisted shot into the cage at 23:10.

Down but not out, the Huskies were able to regroup quickly and take a goal back two minutes later. Off a penalty corner, freshman Crystal Poland passed the ball off to Graham, who slotted it past Hofstra keeper Amanda Heyde to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The goal breathed new life into the Huskies, who came out hungry in the second half. An early penalty corner afforded Northeastern even more momentum, which the team converted into three quality scoring chances. Sophomore Carolyn Malloy produced two shots in the ensuing minutes, but both were turned aside by Heyde.

The breakthrough finally came in the 42nd minute when Barker ripped a shot into the cage from the top of the arc. Junior Anne-Rieke Stuhlmann and Malloy earned assists on the play, which came off yet another penalty corner.

Northeastern nearly knotted the game in the next two minutes, but Heyde stood tall in denying Malloy, Barker and then Graham's bid for an equalizer.

Daniels promptly spoiled the Huskies' comeback with a goal of her own in the 46th minute. Taking a lead pass from Kovar, the senior slipped her shot inside the right post for the all-important insurance goal.

Daniels' goal effectively deflated the Huskies, who could not bring the scoreline any closer. The team produced one more scoring chance in the form of a Malloy shot in the 54th minute, but again Heyde was up to the task. Hofstra's keeper finished with 11 saves on 13 shots.

Northeastern returns to action on Sunday at No. 11 Drexel at 2 p.m.