2012 Women's Soccer Digital Media Guide

Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Sept. 23 post-game interview (Tracey Leone)

After concluding a five-game home stand on Sunday, the Northeastern women's soccer team takes to the road when it travels to Harrisonburg, Va. for a CAA match-up with James Madison on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Northeastern has opened conference play at 1-1, and has won two of its last three games overall.

Dukes and Dogs: A history
James Madison currently holds a slim 4-5 edge in the all-time series with NU, in a series dating back to Northeastern's arrival in the CAA for the 2005 season. The series also includes a pair of postseason meetings, with NU picking up a CAA tournament semifinal win in 2008 before the Dukes bounced the Huskies in the 2009 quarterifnals. Tracey Leone is 1-1 in her two matchups with JMU, most recently defeating the Dukes, 4-2, on Sept. 25, 2011. In that contest, the Huskies scored three goals coming out of the gates and never looked back en route to the victory. Kirby Anderson scored NU's first goal before Greta Samuelsdottir notched a pair and Veronica Napoli punched in a second half insurance tally. Paige Burnett stopped six shots in net for the win.

Last time out
Samuelsdottir scored a pair of first half goals, but the UNCW Seahawks equalized late in the first half before using a pair of second half strikes to drop NU, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon. Samuelsdottir's goals came off assists from Hanna Terry and Hillary Savoy, and Burnett made six saves for NU in the loss. Stephanie Rose scored twice in the second half for UNCW, after being stopped on multiple chances in the first. The loss moved NU to 1-1 in its early conference slate.

Drawing up the Dukes
James Madison sits at 3-7 on the year, with a 1-1 mark in CAA play. The Dukes most recently split a pair of road games to open conference play, winning at Old Dominion, 5-0, before dropping a 2-0 decision at William & Mary. Kelly Germain leads JMU in scoring with a 3-3-9 line, and Lauren Wilson is second on the squad at 3-2-8. Katie Hyland has added two goals and two assists. Kate Courter has handled the bulk of playing time in net, appearing in seven contests and accumulating a 0.87 GAA and an .800 save percentage. Dave Lombardo is currently in his 23rd year at the helm of the program, during which he has made 10 NCAA tournament appearances.

Greta the Great
Greta Samuelsdottir scored three goals over Northeastern's 1-1 weekend to start CAA pay, giving her five tallies on the year. The senior captain's 5-2-12 scoring line is tops on the squad. Her five goals are fourth in the conference, as are her 12 points. The Kopavogur, Iceland native now has 23 career goals, giving her sole possession of fourth all-time in NU history.  With 57 career points, she sits one point behind Liza Rebello ('09) for third in NU history. Her multi-goal game on Sunday against UNCW was her second of the season, and marked the fourth time in her career she has tallied multiple goals in a game.

Rock solid rooks
Seven different freshman have seen time this season for coach Leone, and six have made at least one start.  Rookies Shayna Blackwood and Oksana Nicholls have all appeared in each of Northeastern's ten games this year, and Nicholls has gotten a starting nod in every contest. The Glendora, Calif. native is tops on the squad in minutes with 918, and Blackwood is seventh with 677. Morgan Hilby, Taylor Tharp, and Emily Nasuti have each appeared in all but one game. Nasuti  started every game of NU's five-game home stand that ended Sunday, and picked up her first career point with an assist vs. Dayton on Sept. 9.

Scorin' Savoy
After starting 38 games during her first two years on campus and not accumulating a single point, junior captain Hillary Savoy is second on the team this season with four. The Winchester, Mass. native and 2010 CAA All-Rookie selection tallied her first career point with an assist on Aug. 31 vs UNH,  then did one better on Sept. 16, punching home her first career goal in the win vs. Albany. Her two assists this year are tied for tops on the squad.

Sophomore stoppers
Classmates Paige Burnett, Maria Lanyi and Awnalisa Walker have been steady on the defense for Leone this year. Walker and Lanyi have both started nine of 10 games in the backfield, and Burnett has started every game in net. Burnett's 50 saves on the season are the third highest total in the CAA, and her two shutouts are sixth in the league.

Following Thursday's road contest, Northeastern has the rest of the weekend off before resuming play on Oct. 4 when it hosts Drexel at Parsons Field.

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