Box score

Some late-game heroics including a game-trying goal by junior Annie Clayman and a converted penalty stroke by sophomore Crystal Poland helped down the #16 Drexel Dragons, 3-2, on Senior Day at Sweeney Field on Sunday afternoon.
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The Huskies honored their two seniors, Meg Sweeney and Anne-Rieke Stuhlmann#, in a ceremony before the game. The two combined for 150 career games for Northeastern.

Northeastern's victory over Drexel ended the Dragons nine-game winning streak and their stranglehold on the CAA. Drexel was undefeated in league play heading into Sunday's contest.

The win boosts Northeastern back to the .500 mark (9-9) and 4-2 in CAA play. Drexel stands as the third ranked team the Huskies topped this season. Northeastern defeated No. 15 Boston University on Sept. 12 and No. 20 Stanford on Oct. 18.

Sophomore goaltender Lizzie Priest made five saves in the contest while Drexel's netminder Jenna Philips matched Preist's total.

Scoring occurred in spurts for both teams as junior Carolyn Malloy got things going right off the bat. Immediately off the draw the Huskies settled into Drexel's area and set up camp. Sophomore Allison Conti made the pass to Malloy from just outside the box and Malloy swatted it past Philips at 1:05 of the first half.

Drexel responded quickly at the 7:55 after Christina Mastropaolo earned the equalizer. Monica Baick parted NU's defense and deferred to Mastropaolo who was in perfect position to beat Priest to tie the game, 1-1.

Just under four minutes later, Susan Ciufo put Drexel up, 2-1, at 11:49 after grabbing a kicked rebound and putting back for the Dragons first lead of the game.

The middle portion of the game was controlled by Northeastern, but both clubs struggled to sustain any sort of offensive presence. The next 50 minutes went scoreless until the Huskies pulled out all the stops.

Head coach Cheryl Murtagh pulled Priest and sent in an extra attacker in sophomore Emily Norell to give the Huskies an advantage on the offensive end. The move paid dividends almost immediately as Clayman was able to capitalize at 64:43 to cinch the game back to 2-2. The Huskies pushed the ball into Drexel's territory and were able to mount enough pressure to force the ball to the back of the cage.

Northeastern gained the edge after Drexel was cited for an infraction that resulted in a penalty stroke for Poland at the 66:26 mark. Phillips guess to her right while Priest made the move on her right and easily lifted the ball into the netting to curb Drexel's hot streak in Northeastern's final home game of 2010.

The Huskies have two more regular season games with the first coming on Friday, Oct. 29 at Virginia Commonwealth (4 p.m.). The regular-season finale comes at James Madison when NU takes on the Lady Dukes at 1 p.m. The first round of the CAA Tournament starts on Saturday, Nov. 6.