Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – For the second year in a row, Northeastern will vie for a conference crown after defeating the No. 3-seed, James Madison, 3-2, on Saturday. Lindsay Bennett, Caroline Judge and Nicky Graham all were part of NU's three goals, vaulting the Huskies (14-5, 5-2 CAA) to the CAA Tournament finals taking place Sunday at 3 p.m. The Huskies will try to avenge a late-season defeat at the hands of Drexel for a shot at their first CAA title.

NOTE: Fans can view live stats of the CAA Championship at 3 p.m. Sunday HERE and a live video stream HERE, free of charge.

Saturday seemed familiar for Northeastern as Lindsay Bennett tacked in the game's first goal at the 2:01 mark, the eighth time all season the Huskies scored within the game's first six minutes -- all of which were wins. Bennett hunkered down on the left side of the cage, and a beautiful long pass from Caroline Judge set the junior up nicely to send home her fifth goal of the year, putting the Huskies up 1-0 early.

JMU roared back, however, getting a score from Jenna Taylor just four minutes later. Senior goaltender Lizzie Priest, who finished the semifinals with five saves, saw the ball sneak just by her pads for the tying score. JMU nearly had another opportunity to score when the Dukes had a 1-on-1 chance flying into the circle, but senior back Christine Tase stepped up to make the much-needed play to poke the ball out and corral it in to retain possession.

With 10 minutes until the first half came to a close, Northeastern picked up its second goal of the game in a unique situation. With nearly all of its attackers outside the circle, attempting to set up a play, Judge sent a rocket towards the cage that ultimately bounced off JMU's Lena Wimmert's boot, scooting in for a score. That goal put NU in a comfortable 2-1 cushion heading into the break.

Much of the second stanza was back-and-forth, physical play between the two squads fighting for a shot at the conference title game. Even with a 2-1 lead, the Huskies were not able to rest a wink, as Rachel Wein put in a rebound in the lower-right corner of the cage, just out of reach of any NU defender. The score tied the game at 2-2, with just over 10 minutes left in the contest.

After head coach Cheryl Murtagh called a Northeastern timeout to talk things over, luck swung the Huskies' way. After earning a penalty corner with less than five minutes of game clock left, Crystal Poland settled a high, bouncing ball and sent it over to Nicky Graham, who fired one passed Wimmert for the eventual game-winner.

With the goal-advantage with under five minutes left to play, the Huskies settled in to their defensive mode and didn't allow JMU a single shot to try to even things up. Behind only eight penalty corners and 18 shots, NU escaped to see another day and battle Drexel for a shot at the CAA title. With a 3 p.m. start, the title game will be aired live on CAAsports.com, free of charge.