Boxscore(.pdf)
Boxscore(.html)
STORRS, CT (November 15) -- Senior First Team All-BIG EAST
selection Mary Jo Malone (Water Mill, NY) assisted on the game-tying goal, and
scored the game-winner as the No. 12 University of Connecticut field hockey team
defeated No. 9 Northeastern, 2-1, in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Division I
Field Hockey Championship at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex in
Storrs.
With the victory, the Huskies advance to the NCAA Tournament
Quarterfinal, where they will face No. 1 Wake Forest at 2:00 p.m. in Storrs, for
a trip to the Final Four.
Saturday’s victory marks the first time UConn has defeated
Northeastern in postseason play in five tries.
After Northeastern’s Jay Quinn scored off of a rebound giving
NU a 1-0 lead just 3:21 into the contest, junior BIG EAST Offensive Player of
the Year Lauren Henderson (Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe) answered with a goal of
her own just 6:30 later. UConn was awarded a penalty corner, and capitalized as
Malone fed the ball to Junior All-BIG EAST First Team member Abby Ostruzka who
set the ball perfectly for Henderson to blast a shot into the back of the net.
Connecticut controlled play for the next several minutes and
scored the game-winner at 17:15. All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Laura Puddle
(London, England) found a seam in the NU defense and dribbled down the right
side of the circle. Puddle then struck a cross to a cutting Malone, who tapped
the ball into the lower left corner for the game-winner.
BIG EAST Goaltender of the Year, Maureen Butler (Red Hook,
NY), came up huge in preserving the victory, making six stops, including a great
save off of a shot from the nation’s leading goal scorer, Mari Creatini.
Creatini took a feed from the top of the circle and had a look at an unguarded
net. However, Butler quickly recovered and made a diving save to maintain the
lead. Diana Nelson made eight saves for NU.
Wake Forest defeated BIG EAST Tournament Champion, Boston College 5-1 to advance
to the Quarterfinal.
