Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Central Michigan
Wildcats Knock Off Central Michigan, 5-3
9/7/2003 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 7, 2003
NU vs. CMU Box Score in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Diane Provencher, Candice Cooper and Meghan Small each tallied a goal and an assist as Northwestern downed Central Michigan, 5-3 at the Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex in Evanston.
The Chippewas got on the board first when Kristy Reed beat NU goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg with a blast 4:58 into the first half.
Northwestern (2-1-0) came right back to tie the score less than two minutes later when Cooper took a pass from Small and flipped the ball over Chippewa goalkeeper Laura Plese's right shoulder.
Christine Nannicelli put the 'Cats up 2-1 in the 21:07 into the first half when she scored off a Cooper pass.
NU extended its lead to 3-1 at 24:44 when Provencher took a pass from Thaddia Rintel and beat Plese for the goal.
Ellen Schlafly redirected a Provencher shot into the goal at 31:20 to make the score 4-1.
Central Michigan's Alicia Balanesi pulled the Chippewas (0-2-0) to within 4-2 at 37:14, but the two-goal deficit was as close as they would come.
Small scored the Wildcats' final goal at 54:47 and extended the lead to 5-2.
Head coach Marisa Didio was pleased with her team's overall performance, but was concerned about their play in the second half.
"I thought we really started strong. That is one of the things we've really tried to emphasize is getting out there and getting strong starts," she said. "I think we lost our concentration a little bit in the second half, though."
Nyberg made six saves in the match for the 'Cats, while Danielle Frank, who came in in relief of Plese in the second half, stopped five NU shots.
