Game Notes: Hofstra | Boston U (to come) • Live Stats: Hofstra | Boston U

The Huskies return to the pitch this weekend with a home contest against CAA foe Hofstra at 3 p.m. in Durham, N.H., before stepping out of conference for the last time this season for a showdown with Boston University on Sunday in Cambridge, Mass. No. 10 Northeastern (11-3, 3-1 CAA) is looking to keep the momentum strong after a 4-3 overtime victory over then-No. 25 Maine.

Last time out
After two dominating performances against both Harvard (4-1) and Delaware (5-0), Northeastern faltered a bit against No. 24 Boston College. Though the Huskies were effective on defense, the offense was held scoreless for the first time this season in the 1-0 loss to the Eagles.

NU got back to its winning ways on Sunday, however, with an exciting overtime victory over Maine. The Huskies led at the half, 3-1, but the Black Bears came back to force the extra period (the Huskies' fourth of this year). Just over seven minutes into the frame, freshman Deirdre Duke sliced through defenders towards the cage, forwarding a centering pass to Nicky Graham, who fired the ball into the back of the cage for the golden goal. The win was Northeastern's sixth over a ranked opponent this season.

The early scorer finds the win
Burried deep within the statistics surrounding the 2012 season lies a telling trend: the Huskies are 7-0 when leading at the half and are 10-0 when scoring three goals or more. Further than that, Northeastern has scored first in nine of its 14 contests this season -- all of which were Husky wins.

At one point in the season, in its three-game stretch against Northwestern, Dartmouth and Virginia, Northeastern only needed an incredible average of 2:10 to make the first dent in the scoreboard.

History...is here
With her two-goal performance against Harvard on Oct. 3, Crystal Poland gained sole possession of Northeastern's all-time career goals mark (then at 68). The senior, now with 70 goals and 19 assists in her four years, is just four points away from owning the program's all-time career points record as well.

In the cage, senior netminder Lizzie Priest soared up the record ladder with a strong season so far. With her 43 career wins for the Red and Black, Priest currently shares second place all-time with Danielle Butsch (1993-97) for wins at Northeastern. Her 5104 minutes are also good enough for second place, while her career winning percentage of .581 (43-31) ranks seventh in program history.

After registering 18 assists a year ago, Nicky Graham is on pace to scratch the surface of the history books as well. With her 10 helpers so far this season (most in the CAA at this point), the North Vancouver, British Columbia, native has 31 career assists, placing her in a tie for eighth all-time at Northeastern.

The Pride of Hofstra
Hofstra visits Northeastern with a 6-8 (0-4) record this season, but the Pride are coming off an upset of then-No. 12 Boston Terriers. Prior to that, however, Hofstra had lost its five previous games.

Jonel Boileau has amassed 10 goals -- third-most in the CAA -- and two assists on the year for 22 points. Close behind her, statistically, sits Micaela Gallagher with five goals and three assists for 13 points. In goal, Kaitlyn De Turo is second in the conference with 90 saves thus far this season, tallying a 6.43 saves per game.

The Huskies and Pride have met 17 times before, with Northeastern owning a 13-4 record. NU has taken the previous two contests, 5-0 in 2010 and 3-2 in 2011.

Battling Boston
The Terriers, ranked No. 13 in the land, come into the weekend having just lost to Hofstra. BU (9-5, 3-0 AEC) is 4-3 against ranked opponents this season, and owns a 4-3 record against shared opponents with Northeastern (Delaware, Boston College, Virginia, William & Mary, Massachusetts, Maine and Hofstra). Both Jacinda McLeod (7g, 0a) and Ella Gunson (4g, 6a) lead the Terrier attack with 14 points apiece.

BU splits time between to goalkeepers in Valentina Cerda (12 starts and 496 minutes) and Jess Maroney (one start and 513 minutes). Maroney leads the way with 42 saves and eight goals allowed, while Cerda has 26 saves to 13 goals allowed.

Sunday will mark the 43rd time the Huskies and Terriers have met, the most meetings with any opponent for the Huskies all-time (NU and New Hampshire met for the 42nd time this season). Northeastern is 25-17 all-time against BU, and the Huskies haven't lost to their crosstown rivals since 2007 (four straight wins).

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