 "Photo: Michael Silverwood/UNH PHOTOS")
With her team down one and time running out in the middle of an emotional game against her former team, UNH junior forward Caitlin Whelan turned away from traditional technique and went with an old time soccer standby: kick the ball as hard as you can.
"I just shot the hell out of it," recalled Whelan after the game. The goal helped lead the 10th ranked Wildcats to a hard fought 1-1 tie against rival Northeastern University Saturday night at Bremner Field.
During a game that featured a great team performance, it was an individual effort that stole the show when the junior forward made, by far, the best play of the night. Stealing the ball deep in Northeastern territory, Whelan dribbled through three defenders and ripped a shot from the top of the box, sailing just beyond the outstretched fingers of Husky goalie Annie Petrofsky.
"You just gotta totally give her credit for that individual effort," said a near speechless UNH Head Coach Michael Jackson, "The goal was, what do you call it? Spectacular's the wrong word… It was a sight to see; it was great."
Playing in front of a crowd of 300 plus, on a cool night that felt more like late October, the Wildcats showed why they've been so hard to beat this season. Coming into Saturday's action, the team had just allowed two goals in its first five games and from the games opening minutes, it was easy to see why.
Northeastern started the game with possession of the ball, but it was the most they would control it during the period. UNH dominated possession in a hard fought first-half showcasing an aggressive attack to counter Northeastern's physical style of play.
"I'm really impressed with the ball movement of the team," remarked Coach Jackson. "It's something we trained for and this was a very good team. They're very athletic and very physical, so I'm really pleased that, under this kind of pressure, we could move the ball the way we did."
The Wildcats had their first scoring opportunity mere minutes into the game, but the kick from junior forward Sarah Hourihan sailed wide right. UNH had several other shots on goal during the first-half, but were turned away time and time again by a stout Husky' defense.
"They were probably one of the most physical teams we've played," said Whelan, "but we expected that. We knew coming into the start they were going to be physical."
In a game where the teams combined for 42 fouls, UNH proved it was more than up to the challenge of answering the call of Northeastern's physical level of play.
In the world of sports it only takes one play to change the scope of a game, and in the 51st minute, Northeastern got its big break. Husky junior Brenna Matthews drove home a header off a beautiful corner from freshmen teammate Tinna Nielsen to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats responded with a flurry of action in the next ten minutes, sending several shots at the Northeastern keeper. Whelan opened the action with an indirect kick that sailed just high of the Northeastern goal, followed by two near misses on a shot from junior Michelle Sheehan that went wide right and a header from Hourihan that was saved by the Husky goalkeeper.
That's when Whelan took over, firing the shot into the back of the net in the 80th minute to tie up the game at one a piece. The goal was Whelan's team leading 5th on the year, after back to back two-goal contests earned her America East player of the week last week.
The 'Cats had the game's best chances in the second overtime, but a win just wasn't in the cards. "I feel we had some very good chances to win the game," said Coach Jackson, "perhaps more than they did. It was just a little too big of a touch, too much of a step, waited too long, but again I'm really pleased with the overall effort of the team."
With the tie, the squad runs its record to 4-1-1 on the young season. The team returns to action next on Sept. 21 on the road at the University of Rhode Island at 7:30 p.m.
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