BOSTON -- The 34th edition of Northeastern field hockey begins on Friday night when the Huskies host Monmouth on Dedham Field at 6 p.m. The matchup with the Hawks is the first of two games this weekend for NU, which welcomes Northwestern to town on Sunday afternoon.
There's no place like home
Friday night's game against Monmouth will be the first at Northeastern's new facility in Dedham, Mass. The field, made of AstroTurf, gives the Huskies a permanent home for 11 games this season.
"The quality of our pracÂtices [at the new facility] is so much better," said head coach
Cheryl Murtagh. "We hope it will have an immeÂdiate impact on the proÂgram and a long-term impact on the sucÂcess of the team."
O Captain, My Captain
A veteran trio, one that has appeared in 148 of a possible 150 contests in the last three seasons, has been chosen to lead the Huskies in 2013. Senior
Lindsay Bennett and junior
Caroline Judge will serve as NU's captains this season, while junior
Kate Carlson was selected as vice captain.
The three will each be looked upon to guide a young but talented group of Huskies seeking their third NCAA tournament berth in as many years.
Huskies in season openers
Historically, the Huskies have gotten off to strong starts in their opening game of the season. In 33 years as a varsity program, Northeastern is 18-14-1 in season openers. NU is 14-10-1 under head coach
Cheryl Murtagh, including a 9-3 mark in the last 12 years.
Poll position
Northeastern etched a spot in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Poll for the second straight season on Tuesday, coming in at No. 15 with 226 points. NU is one of two CAA schools included in the poll, joining Drexel at No. 17. Six of the Huskies' regular season opponents are also included in the poll led by Northwestern, Sunday's opponent, at No. 11.
Preseason plaudits
NU was chosen to finish second in the CAA this season, according to a vote from the league's coaches on Aug. 12. It marks the second straight season that the Huskies were chosen in the second slot, and third time since Northeastern joined the conference in 2005.
Two members of the squad also picked up Preseason All-CAA nods in senior captain
Lindsay Bennett and sophomore midfielder
Zoe Kale. Bennett is the team's leading returning scorer in 2013 after finishing 2012 with five goals and 11 assists while Kale started every game for NU during her freshman season, earning CAA All-Rookie accolades.
Scouting Monmouth
NU and the Hawks will meet for the first time on Friday, with the Hawks coming off an 8-13 record in 2012, finishing fourth in the MAAC.
Coach Carli Figlio will see three of her top five scorers from 2012 return to the field in 2013, and should expect scoring to continue from all areas of the field. Junior forward Amanda Schoenfeld finished second on the team with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points a year ago. Senior midfielder Trish O'Dwyer was not far behind in third place with 7-7-21 totals, while senior defender Chelsea Mann provided offense from the back end (6-3-15).
Senior goalkeeper Teresa Mathews returns to the Monmouth net this season after appearing in all 21 games for the Hawks last season. Starting 20 games, she went 8-12 with a 2.97 goals against average, a .639 save percentage, and two shutouts.
NU adds 11 rookies to 2013 roster
After the departure of its top two scorers from last season, including two-time All-American
Crystal Poland, Northeastern welcomes 11 freshmen to the 2013 squad. The group, made up of five forwards, three midfielders, two back and one goalkeeper is tied with Lock Haven, Michigan State and Sacred Heart for the most true freshmen in the nation.
Howarth joins Husky coaching staff
This season, Northeastern welcomes
Ben Howarth, who joins the program as an assistant coach. Howarth comes to Huntington Avenue after spending the 2012 season as the head coach at the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Sefton Hockey Club.
Celebrate 'College Colors Day' Friday
Northeastern will celebrate the ninth annual 'College Colors Day' on Friday at Dedham Field. Students and fans are asked to show their school spirit by wearing Huskies gear to Friday's game.
Don't have any Northeastern apparel? No problem! NU fans can gear up for 'College Colors Day' at the official online store by visiting our official
online store.
NU unveils 2013 digital media guide
The Northeastern athletic department introduces the official 2013 digital media guide for field hockey. In an upgrade from previous media guides, this year's digital guides provide a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate format to access information for all 18 teams at Northeastern.
This season's digital media guides provide a glance into the student-athletes, coaches and history of each NU team, as well as a multitude of information on the University and the City of Boston. The guide also allows fans to learn more about a specific topic with a simple click of the mouse. Visit GoNU.com/DMG to view all four fall media guides.
The road ahead
Following Friday's game against Monmouth, the Huskies will have a day off before hosting Northwestern on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The meeting between two of the nation's top teams is the third in the last four seasons. Northwestern will visit Dedham Field after a Friday afternoon matchup at Providence.
The teams are level in the all-time series at 6-6-1 after the Huskies topped the Wildcats on opening weekend last season, 2-1.
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