Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- No. 14 Northeastern used two goals in the first 10 minutes to stave off the sixth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, 3-2, Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich. Freshman Deirdre Duke netted NU's first score just 2:34 in the game, and senior Crystal Poland followed that up with a goal of her own at 8:13 to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the neutral-site contest.

Duke's goal, her second of her career, marked the third time in as many games that the Huskies grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Poland, who assisted on Duke's goal and potted a pair of her own, finished the game with five points. Senior goalkeeper Lizzie Priest finished a valient performance against a high-octane offense with five saves in the winning effort.

Down 2-0, Virginia attempted to come from behind with a goal from Michelle Vittese at the 9:32 mark, which made things interesting moving forward. Northeastern was able to only get two more shots off in the last 20 minutes of the first half, whereas UVA rattled off 12 shots towards Priest's direction. But the NU senior came up with four key saves, and the Husky defenders earned their stripes with four blocked shots to halt the Hoos' offense.

By contrast, the first 20 minutes of the second stanza were relatively quiet for both teams, with no one firing a shot on goal. Poland broke the silence, rocketing in her second of the day, and eighth of the season, on a one-on-one battle with the UVA goalie at 58:25. NU kept up the pace until Virginia's Elly Buckley capitalized on a penalty corner for the Cavaliers to make it 3-2 with 2:54 remaining.

Buckley got one more shot at tying the game with :19 remaining, but Priest came up with her fifth -- and arguably most crucial save -- of the day, all but completing Northeastern's upset bid over No. 6 Virginia.

The Huskies return to action tomorrow (Sunday) at 2 p.m. for a showdown with No. 20 Michigan State.