DEDHAM – It was a senior day to remember for Northeastern, as they battled their way to a victory over Maine at Dedham Field on Sunday.
Northeastern walked away with a 4-2 victory, extending their winning streak to seven games with two left to play in the regular season. The Huskies hold a 10-6 record and have seen great success this season, which wouldn’t have been possible without the talented and driven group of seniors on the team.
“They all brought every single day,” Northeastern Head Coach Pam Spuehler said of this year’s group of seniors, both undergraduate and graduate. “The seniors are willing to be positive and working hard, and everyone else also wants to do the same.”
Maine showed up to play with an early goal in the 5th minute by Maine sophomore Kate Rirchardson, but Northeastern responded quickly to tie less than a minute later. The score came on a penalty corner goal by graduate student Lauren Rowe, assisted by graduate student Caroline Sweeney and senior Maria Armaganian.
“It was to come right back and attack even faster and more serious,” Spuehler said of Northeastern’s strategy after the unassisted goal from Maine.“We like to take two minutes [after the opposing team scores] pretty seriously and try to get a goal early so that we’re not down.”
The two teams held one another in check for the majority of the second quarter, battling up and down the field. Maine’s Bhreagh Kennedy received a yellow card after a hard hit on Northeastern in the 19th minute of play.
With three minutes left in the second, sophomore Alex Mega found a pass from graduate student Mak Graves to put the Huskies up on the Black bears 2-1 going into the second half.
“I think it was from both sides, a very back and forth game. So there are some really good attacking moments and defensive moments for both teams,” said Spuehler.
Midway through the third, senior Lara Taylor was able to connect with Rowe on a penalty corner, bringing the Huskies up to 3-1. The goal was Taylors’ fifth of the season, after she was just named CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week on October 14th. Taylor’s honor marked the third straight week that a Northeastern player maintained this distinction, with graduate student captain Lauren Rowe holding the title the prior two weeks.
During the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Mega scored her fourth goal of the season to bring the Huskies up to a commanding lead of 4-1. With five shots total, three of which were on goal, Mega proved to be a vital contributor to the team’s success in Sunday’s game.
After both teams substituted their goalkeepers out, Maine’s Brynn Dzengelewski managed to score on her second attempt with just seven minutes remaining in the game. This stroke of hope appears to reignite Maine’s fire, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Huskies.
It was not without grit and determination that Northeastern walked away with their seventh-straight victory and 10th goal of the season. The team has not seen 10 victories in a single season since 2019.
Senior Goalkeeper Kristi Merashoff gave the team six crucial saves, and freshman Laine Cabell, following in her elder teammate’s successful footsteps, put up two saves in the fourth quarter.
After another encouraging win, the Huskies will look to keep the momentum rolling heading into the final two games of the season against Monmouth and Hofstra.
“We haven’t even played our best yet, which is exciting. But [to keep the momentum up], just to trust in the process and know that we’re in the right direction,” said Spuehler.