BOSTON -- Northeastern field hockey opens Coastal Athletic Association play this weekend Friday, traveling to Hofstra on Friday at 3 p.m. before facing No. 7 Harvard on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Cambridge. Friday's CAA opener will stream on FloCollege, while Sunday's non-conference clash can be seen on ESPN+.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
LAST TIME OUT: Northeastern split its home doubleheader last week, opening with a 1-0 win over UC Davis before falling to Stanford. Camille Armaganian converted a penalty stroke just 5:34 into the UC Davis match for her third goal of the season, and freshman goalkeeper Aiko Price made four saves for her first career shutout as the Huskies picked up their first win of the year. Two days later, freshman Clara Ojea Quintana scored her first collegiate goal on a penalty corner to tie the game at 1-1 in the third quarter against Stanford, but the unbeaten Cardinal answered in the final 10 minutes to pull away for their sixth straight win to open the season.
SCOUTING HOFSTRA: The Pride were picked sixth in the CAA preseason poll, with midfielder Gwenn van Dijk and forward Kelly Levengood both earning Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention honors. Hofstra enters Friday at 2-3 and has dropped its last two games, an overtime loss to Quinnipiac and a 2-1 setback against Providence, after opening the season with wins over Rider and Wagner. Freshman Malena Bertone has been a bright spot for the Pride, earning back-to-back CAA Rookie of the Week honors to open her career.
SCOUTING HARVARD: The Crimson enter Sunday's matchup ranked No. 7 in this week's NFHCA national coaches poll, part of a top-five preseason billing that has held steady through the first month of the season. Northeastern has had its hands full with Harvard in recent meetings, as the Crimson have won each of the last three matchups between the two programs, including a 2-0 win at Dedham Field last September, a 5-1 result in Cambridge in 2023 and a 2-0 decision at Dedham Field in 2022. Harvard reached the NCAA semifinals a season ago before falling to eventual runner-up Princeton, and returns as one of the Ivy League's flagship programs under a roster built to make another deep postseason push.
