Oct. 18, 2010
BOSTON- Nicky Graham scored two minutes into overtime, propelling Northeastern to a 2-1 upset victory over No. 20 Stanford on Monday morning in the Cardinal's final contest of a three-game, four-day road swing.
Stanford (9-5, 3-1 NorPac) wrapped up the trip with a 1-2 mark, with both losses coming in the form of 2-1 overtime defeats. Northeastern (7-9, 2-2 CAA) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.
All five Stanford losses this year have been one-goal defeats.
Stanford controlled tempo and owned advantages in shot attempts (25-15) and penalty corners (8-4). But Northeastern received a terrific defensive effort from goalkeeper Lizzie Priest, who came up with 13 saves to keep the Huskies in the game.
Northeastern's Crystal Poland tallied a game-high seven shots while Xanthe Travlos led Stanford with six attempts.
After a scoreless first half dominated by Stanford, the Cardinal finally grabbed a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the second period. Becky Dru notched her sixth goal of the year, scoring off a penalty corner with assists from Kelsey Lloyd and Stephanie Byrne.
The Cardinal maintained that lead until the 57:30 mark, when Poland scored off a second-chance effort following a shot from teammate Lindsay Bennett.
After Travlos misfired on Stanford's only shot attempt of the overtime period, Graham found the cage when she tipped in Carolyn Malloy's missed shot from the left side.
Stanford hosts Pacific on Sunday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. in its final home contest of the year. Senior Day festivities honoring Heather Alcorn, Katherine Donner, Jaimee Erickson, Camille Gandhi, Katherine Swank and Xanthe Travlos will take place prior to the game.
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NOTES: Stanford is 2-2 in overtime games this year. Prior to Friday's 2-1 loss to No. 8 Syracuse in extra time, Stanford had won seven consecutive overtime games dating back to Oct. 6, 2008 ... Stanford blanked Northeastern 1-0 last year at home in the first-ever night game played under the lights at the Varsity Turf. Jaimee Erickson scored the only goal in that contest for the Cardinal but Lizzie Priest was again impressive in goal, making 10 saves for the Huskies ... Becky Dru leads Stanford in goals (6), points (17) and shots (52). Her five assists are tied for the team lead with Stephanie Byrne ... The Cardinal has scored 40 goals this year (19 in the first half, 19 in the second half, 2 in overtime) ... Stanford's final two games are against NorPac opponents (Pacific on Oct. 24 and California on Oct. 29). Davidson's 10 victories currently lead all NorPac programs.