Northeastern field hockey (9-6, 3-1 CAA) bested rival Boston University Terriers (5-10, 2-3 Patriot League) 3-1 thanks to its strong offensive effort in the Senior Day game, which was the team’s last home game of the season. After clinching the victory and extending their winning streak to four games, the 10 graduating players walked with their families under their teammates’ raised sticks to celebrate their contributions to the team.
Senior forward Emilia Adragna earned the team two points, and graduate student forward and midfielder Laine Ambrose earned one, tallying her third goal of the season. Adragna’s goals made her the season’s leading scorer at seven and the CAA Offensive Player of the Week .
Graduate student goalkeeper Arabella Loveridge played the first half and blocked all five shots on goal, while freshman goalkeeper Ibby Welldon played the second half and blocked three of four shots on goal.
“They both did outstanding,” head coach Pam Spuehler said. “We have confidence in both of them, so that was super exciting.”
Sophomore defender Camille Armaganian’s shot 10 minutes in was blocked by BU’s junior goalkeeper Sophie Ortyl, who knocked it back into play right in front of the goal. The two teams fought over the ball before BU managed to hit it away.
Thirteen minutes into the quarter, freshman midfielder Jessica Garden came into possession at the quarter line, where she tried to dribble the ball to the goal but got caught in a two-on-one. A foul by one of the Terriers gave Northeastern a corner. The Huskies capitalized off this opportunity as Adragna put the Huskies on the scoreboard with a corner penalty shot, assisted by Armaganian. Adragna’s shot went into the left corner of the goal past multiple defenders, who stayed near the goalie.
Things moved quickly in the second quarter. Loveridge blocked a shot, and senior midfielder and defender Anna-Kate Domingue stole the ball from a Terrier who rushed the goal with it.
Ambrose solidified Northeastern’s lead almost three minutes into the second period when, in one motion, she knocked the ball out of a defender’s stick and into the goal, hitting the left corner of the net to put the Huskies up 2-0.
“She was so aggressive out there,” Spuehler said. “She was implementing things that she has done here and there throughout the season, and today she played really phenomenal for us.”
During a corner for Northeastern, senior midfielder and defender Ashley Pappas inserted and Adragna made the shot, but she sent the ball a little wide to the right, and a BU defender blocked. Adragna came back from that miss about 10 seconds later with a second corner penalty shot, this one assisted by junior midfielder and forward Alex Mega, that scored the Huskies’ second point with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. The shot was fast and aimed straight to the middle of the goal.
When BU regained possession, one player ran the ball down Northeastern’s mostly empty side with only Armaganian on her. The Terrier pulled to the right to shake Armaganian and shot to the right corner of the goal, but Loveridge gloved it.
In the second quarter, the ball spent more time on Northeastern’s side but frequently traveled across the field.
When a BU defender committed a severe foul in the circle, Northeastern earned a stroke, which allowed one Husky to make a shot on goal with nobody else but the goalie in play. Armaganian made the shot toward the top of the goal, and Ortyl jumped up to block it with her hand.
BU made several unsuccessful attempts at scoring before the end of the half. One shot hit the post, and Loveridge blocked two balls.
Northeastern failed a corner penalty 40 seconds into the second half when nobody received the inserted ball.
Graduate student forward, midfielder and captain Lilly Smith caught an aerial ball while it was still in the air, then carried the ball on her stick around two defenders to pass to Garden, who dribbled to the goal. She passed to Ambrose, who attempted to tip the ball in but was blocked.
The Terriers scored their only goal late into the third. While Welldon was crouching on the left side of the goal, BU’s freshman midfielder and forward Molly Driscoll pulled the ball to the right and hit the net.
Unusually, several players tripped and fell during the game, which saw a lot of fast movement. In the scoreless final quarter, Armaganian and a BU player both fell flat on their stomachs at different points while trying to steal the ball.
Driscoll, who scored in the third quarter, received a yellow card in the beginning of the fourth frame, taking her out of play.
Two minutes later, BU made a penalty corner shot toward the corner of the goal that Welldon blocked. The Terriers made three additional shots before the game ended, two of which Welldon blocked and one of which a defender blocked.
The Huskies attempted to widen the gap with a tip, but BU’s Ortyl fell to the ground to block the ball.
With 20 seconds left, a mass of Northeastern and BU players gridlocked the ball at Northeastern’s back line. A Terrier foul awarded Armaganian the ball, and she kept it to herself to run out the clock.
After the game, the seniors stuck around to take pictures and celebrate winning the last home game of their Northeastern careers. Ten players are set to graduate this year, all of whom started in this game.
“Definitely, we’ll miss them,” Spuehler said. “A lot of good leaders in that group, so it’ll be encouraging the younger group to now step into leadership roles.”
Their work isn’t done yet: the Huskies will play at Monmouth University (11-3, 4-0 CAA) Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. It will be the last conference game before the CAA semifinal, where Monmouth is currently placed at No. 1.
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