Box Score  | Season Stats

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — No. 21 Northeastern opened its 2012 campaign with a little flair for the dramatic on Friday against Louisville in the Sherrill Brakmeier Classic, taking down the 23rd-ranked Cardinals, 3-2. The Huskies used two first-half goals from Crystal Poland and Lindsay Bennett, and some stout defense in the second half to move to 1-0 on the season.

Northeastern dominated field position in the early going, and just four minutes into the game, it became evident that the offense was ready to pounce. NU earned its first penalty corner of the young season, but when Poland took the shot, the Cardinals' Erin Conrad made a great stop in the crease.

The Huskies got another chance about 15 minutes later, earning back-to-back corners. After some impressive passing in the circle off the second corner, Bennett shot from the far left side, and the ball glided into the back of the cage for the season's first goal. Louisville, finally able to squeeze by NU defenders, struck back quickly, however, when three minutes later, Haley Jurich evened the playing field at one apiece.

As time wound down in the first half, Poland and Nicky Graham were able to each get one shot off, but a save and a shot wide let Louisville make another effort down the pitch. Amber Thomas was able to capitalize on a UL corner, putting the Cardinals up 2-1 with a shade over two minutes left in the stanza.

But the Huskies weren't done at that point. Poland launched another, this time scoring her first goal of the day off of a Bennett penalty corner. A well positioned ball, this time on the right side of the goal, allowed the senior to sneak by and net the equalizer with just four seconds to spare.

Following halftime, both teams played keep away from each other until Northeastern earned its fifth penalty corner of the day. A fine effort by a Cardinals defender nearly botched the corner, but freshman Deirdre Duke used a beautiful spin move to rocket one into the goal from the top of the circle for the eventual game-winner, putting the Huskies up 3-2 with 20 minutes remaining.

The final 20 minutes showcased the Huskies' strength on defense, as they were able to hold off any charge by the Cardinals. Louisville only got one shot off in that span, and what turned out to be only its fifth shot of the afternoon. Of those five shots, All-CAA goaltender Lizzie Priest made two saves in the winning effort.

Northeastern returns to the pitch Sunday to face the winner of the No. 20 Northwestern and Miami (Ohio) match-up. Check back to GoNU.com for time updates and a link to the live stats.