Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Maryland
Field Hockey Drops Season Opener 3-1 to Maryland
8/31/2002 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Aug. 31, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Head coach Marisa Didio has been known to say, "in order to be the best, you have to play the best."
NU did just that in its home opener at Lakeside Field, taking on national runner-up Maryland Saturday afternoon. It was a highly competitive match that saw the Wildcats fall 3-1, as the Terrapins sealed the win in the final two minutes.
The first 35 minutes of the match was a back-and-forth battle as both teams squandered scoring opportunities. The two goalies were on top of their games, recording three saves. The Wildcats started freshman Kelly Augustine (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) between the sticks, and in her first collegiate action she held her own against the potent Maryland offense. She ended the game with six saves. The Terps' Kelly Hearsey had three saves in the game.
Offensively in the first half, NU used its defense to create offensive opportunities with sophomore Candice Cooper (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) barely missing her first scoring opportunity midway through the first period.
Maryland started the scoring at the 44-minute mark when Carissa Messimer found the back of the NU goal. Just over 10 minutes later, Colleen Barbieri scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, beating Augustine to the lower-left corner. NU responded in the 65th minute when sophomore forward Abby Alley (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) fired freshman Holly Palin's (Mequon, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) pass into the Terrapin goal. However, Barbieri scored Maryland's final goal with just 1:56 remaining, putting the game out of reach.
NU is back in action Monday, taking on the University of New hampshire at 1 p.m. on Lakeside Field. UNH and Maryland will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. on Lakeside Field.
