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DEDHAM, Mass. – Vanessa Pryor's first collegiate goal helped the No. 15 Northeastern field hockey team (1-0) erase a 1-0 deficit to top Monmouth in overtime, 2-1, on opening night at Dedham Field.
The goal came with 7:26 remaining in the first overtime when Pryor picked up a loose ball, quickly moved to the left of the cage and tucked a shot past Hawks goalkeeper Amanda Westerweller for the game-winner.
Freshman
Emmy Zweserijn also scored for the Huskies, and was one of seven rookies to appear in the game. Classmate
Becky Garner got the start in goal in her first collegiate game, making seven saves. The Hawks held a slight advantage in shots (17-14) and corners (9-8).
NU controlled the tempo of the game early on, generating four corner opportunities in the first 35 minutes of the game. Monmouth, however, began to turn the tide with 20 minutes left to play in the half when Alex Carroll blasted a shot off the left post.
The Hawks would persist, and cashed in on one of the team's seven first half corner chances when Carroll fired a low shot through traffic and past Garner for her first goal of the season.
Coming out of the halftime break, Northeastern wasted no time in leveling the score at one on a corner of its own. After senior captain
Lindsay Bennett inserted the ball to
Kaci Coveleski, Coveleski knocked it to Zweserijn, who sent a hard shot past Westerweller just 2:01 into the second half. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the second half with NU holding a 9-6 edge in shots for the remainder of regulation. The Husky defense kept the Hawks at bay, protecting the circle and limiting Monmouth's quality scoring opportunities.
In overtime, the Hawks thought they had it won when Amanda Schoenfeld found herself alone in front of the cage, but she could not corral a pass from the right side, allowing NU to recover and go the other way.
After Northeastern called timeout with 9:32 left in the first overtime, Pryor put the Huskies up for good with a low shot past Westerweller from the left side for a 2-1 NU win.
The Huskies will be back in action on Sunday when Northeastern hosts No. 11 Northwestern at 1 p.m. on Dedham Field.
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