Photo credit: Courtney Ryder | The Breeze
JMU kicked off its weekend with its first CAA game of the season Friday. The Dukes hosted Northeastern and brought intensity, defeating the Huskies, 3-2.
Northeastern got an early start on the offensive front. The Huskies found themselves with an opportunity to score on an empty net early in the game but failed to execute — a break for the Dukes.
“What our coaches have been emphasizing … is just really playing calm and collected,” redshirt junior midfielder Caroline Cahill said. “We know we’re in control and that we can possess the ball and control the pace of the game.”
Despite a strong start, Northeastern couldn’t maintain its energy. JMU however, applied more pressure against the Huskies’ defense and wore them down.
“I think with the game today, we were just at our utmost connectivity,” senior defender Kara McClure said. “We really just played as a team … which is something we’ve really been working on.”
JMU earned the first penalty corner of the game. Junior forward Eveline Zwager took the corner, connecting with junior midfielder Diede Remijnse, who scored and gave the Dukes a 1-0 lead which they held going into the second quarter.
Northeastern started the second period on a mission for revenge. Just over a minute into the period, the Huskies leveled the score thanks to a goal from Northeastern sophomore midfielder Sarah Coyle.
JMU tallied two more goals to end the first half. Redshirt junior midfielder Caroline Cahill earned the Dukes’ second goal off a penalty corner of the game, which was earned after junior midfielder Emily Harrison stole the ball from a Huskie and created an offensive attack.
JMU didn’t score any goals in the second half. A penalty corner in the last 90 seconds of the game allowed Northeastern to score a second goal and make it a one-point game, but it was too late to complete a comeback.
JMU improves to 5-4 (1-0 CAA), while Northeastern falls to 3-7. The Dukes are back in action Oct. 3, hosting Hofstra at 1 p.m.
“I think [we’re] definitely [going to] keep the connectivity and passing the ball,” Remijnse said. “I think that created a lot of opportunities for us.”
Story originally published by The Breeze.
Comments