Box score

Northeastern's bid for its eleventh-ever field hockey conference title, and first as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, fell short Sunday afternoon in Norfolk, Va., in a 5-1 loss to Old Dominion in the CAA championship game.

The Huskies, winners of nine of 10 games entering Sunday's title tilt, surrendered two early goals and struggled to mount an offensive charge against ODU's smothering defense.

Three Northeastern players were named to the All-CAA Championship team, with junior keeper Lizzie Priest, senior forward Carolyn Malloy, and senior midfielder Pam Aldridge earning the honors.

Emma Batten put the Monarchs on the board just 5:21 into the game, scoring off a pass from Maartje vanRijswijk. The goal was the first of four scored by Batten—the CAA Player of the Year—on the afternoon.

Less than five minutes later, Batten again found the back of the cage, tapping in a crossing pass from vanRijswijk, giving ODU a 2-0 advantage.

A timeout by Northeastern settled play, and the Huskies quickly responded firing their first shot on goal less than 50 seconds out of the timeout.

After 15 minutes of back-and-forth play, the Monarchs struck again, this time on a penalty corner. Christy Longacre collected the goal, with assists from Rebecca Condie and Kelsey Smither.

ODU continued to apply pressure before the break, but keeper Lizzie Priest turned away a Monarchs' rush with just over a minute remaining to keep the score 3-0 heading into the half.

After one half, ODU held a 10-2 shots-on-goal advantage, and attempted two corners to none for Northeastern.

Much like the first half, Old Dominion used a quick strike to set the tone for the second half of play. Batten tipped in a crossing pass from Kathryn Kirk to expand the ODU advantage to 4-0.

Less than two minutes later, Nicky Graham breathed life back into the Huskies' title hopes when she collected a rebound off a saved shot and slid the ball past ODU keeper Devon Seifert. It was Graham's third goal of the season.

Old Dominion went back on the offensive, but impressive play in the cage by Priest kept the game within reach. Amidst a flurry of activity in front of the cage, the Huskies' keeper turned away two quick shots at 40:40. Priest again denied the Monarchs with a brilliant diving save near the 47:00 mark. Two and a half minutes later, on an ODU corner, the Huskies' keeper again stood firm, swatting away a high shot. Another Monarchs corner, this one near the 55 minute mark, resulted in another Priest save—this one a kick save.

The Huskies generated an opportunity to cut the margin to two by forcing a corner—their first of the game—at the 57:07 mark, but a shot by Crystal Poland from the top of the circle was turned aside by Seifert.

Just a minute later, ODU mounted another scoring charge, but the Monarchs' 2-on-1 break was for naught, as Priest made a diving save to her right.

The Monarchs, however, continued to apply pressure. Some crafty stick-work by Batten in front of the cage resulted in ODU's fifth and final goal of the day, as she slid a ball past Priest on the left baseline.

For the game, the Monarchs put 20 shots on goal to the Huskies' seven. Old Dominion attempted four corners to Northeastern's two.

Northeastern finishes the season at 14-7-0 (5-3-0 CAA).


NOTES:
> Northeastern make its second-ever appearance in the CAA championship game. The Huskies previously advanced to the title match in 2005--its first year as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

> Northeastern is no stranger to conference tournament championship play. In addition to its two CAA appearances, the Huskies won 10 tournament championships as a member of the North Atlantic and America East conferences (1989-2004)--all under the direction of current head coach Cheryl Murtagh.

> Northeastern made its second-consecutive appearance in the CAA Field Hockey Championship tournament, and its fifth appearance in seven seasons as a conference member.

> Sunday's championship game match-up was the fifth time in tournament history that Northeastern and Old Dominion went head-to-head. In fact, the Huskies have faced the Monarchs in each of their CAA tournament appearances. ODU has won all five meetings.