Field hockey squad doesn’t rebuild. It reloads.

By Paul Perillo

The loftiest aspiration for most Northeastern athletic programs—even the most successful ones—rarely reaches as high as competing at a national level. With a few exceptions, being the best in the America East Conference, or in New England, is the most realistic goal a Husky can dream.

Not so for Cheryl Murtagh’s field hockey squad. Since she arrived on Huntington Avenue fifteen years ago, her team’s annual top-ten finishes have landed it a prominent place on the national map.

Last season, the Huskies finished with an impressive 18-5 mark, racking up their eighth America East title and twelfth trip to the NCAAs. Their quest for a fourth Final Four appearance fell just short with a quarterfinals loss to national power Michigan State on penalty strokes.

Six seniors from that squad departed, leaving eighteen freshmen and sophomores on board this year. Typically, such a shift would translate into a down year for any program, as largely inexperienced support players grow into starters who know how to contribute.

But that’s not Murtagh’s way. Much like perennial basketball powers Duke and North Carolina, Northeastern field hockey doesn’t really go through rebuilding years. It simply reloads. This year will be no different.

“We have a lot of new talent,” Murtagh says of her abundance of underclassmen. “Things are pretty competitive. We have twenty-five players on the roster, and it’s probably the most talented from top to bottom we’ve ever been. It’s been tough for me to make decisions on playing time.”

Given the Huskies’ past success, that’s saying something. And given the way Murtagh chose to open the season—a trip to Virginia to take on top-ten teams James Madison and the University of Virginia, followed by home matches with Michigan, the 2001 national champ, and Ohio—it’s clear she believes what she says. The young team made it through its opening gauntlet with a 2-2 mark. By the middle of October, its record stood at 11-4.

“With so many new faces, we could have opened the season 4-0 by playing some local teams, just to get our confidence up,” says Murtagh. “I thought it was really important for the kids to learn some lessons right away about what it takes to play against the best. There’s always a risk of the kids getting down if you don’t have success when you do that, but I have never done it any other way.”

Here’s one clear indication of how much respect Northeastern receives nationally: The square-off with Michigan took place at Sweeney Field, where the Huskies’ fifteen-game home winning streak was snapped in a tough 4-3 loss. As a quick point of comparison, when was the last time the Wolverines basketball team came to Matthews Arena for a game?

In the Michigan match, the Huskies fell behind 3-0, until Mari Creatini staged her own rally, scoring all 3 goals for the Huskies. It was a taste of great things to come for the junior this year: Just past the midseason mark, Creatini had already racked up 21 goals and 54 points, and was leading the country in goals, goals per game, points, and points per game.

Northeastern has also returned last year’s leading scorer on the team, junior Liane Dixon, who earned 17 goals and 3 assists in 2002. Though Murtagh is relying heavily on both Dixon and Creatini, she knows some of the youngsters have to chip in as well. A sophomore who didn’t play much last season, Jay Quinn, is off to a great start, as is redshirt freshman Natalie Singelais.

“The concern coming into the season is about preparing the young players for something they haven’t experienced,” Murtagh says. “We have to prepare them the best we can—quickly—and so far they seem to have fit in nicely.”

A good team needs a few reliable veterans, and luckily Murtagh is not without help there. Seniors Leigh Shea, Melissa Rowell, and Sara Webber (whose sister, Ashley, is an incoming freshman) have played their share of important matches.

“They’ve been great role players for us,” Murtagh says. “Melissa scored the first goals of her career [this season], and they’ve been great for us throughout their careers. Sara is an important part of our offense [8 goals, 8 assists last year], while Melissa and Leigh hold things together on defense.”

This team’s potent combination of age and youth meant the Huskies were selected as preseason favorites to capture the conference title for the third straight year. And with Murtagh at the controls, another Final Four appearance can’t be ruled out, either.

Around this program, the names may change, but the wins keep coming.

California Dreamin’: Ursillo Leaves Beach for Moment in Sun

Kristin Ursillo is the kind of player you can build a volleyball program around: She grew up in San Diego immersed in the game; her 5-foot-9 frame exudes athleticism.

Small wonder, then, that volleyball coach Ken Nichols considered her a potential cornerstone when the two of them arrived on campus nearly simultaneously four years ago. But, though Ursillo was a rising star, she hadn’t been recruited, exactly. She more or less chose Northeastern herself.

Shortly after getting the Huskies job, Nichols had gone west to watch the Davis Festival, volleyball’s answer to Amateur Athletic Union basketball. Ursillo’s team won the club division. Afterwards, the La Jolla High student introduced herself to Nichols.

“I really wanted to go to school in Boston,” says Ursillo, now majoring in communications, with an eye toward a career in television. “I grew up across the street from the beach, and I wanted to surprise everyone by doing something totally different. Northeastern had the academics I was looking for. I felt it would be great to experience life on both coasts at a young age.”

Even if recruiting Ursillo wasn’t a heavy-lifting moment for Nichols, his efforts in building the Huskies program—with Ursillo as its centerpiece—have won him many accolades. Nichols has taken the team to a new level, dramatically improving its ratings percentage index, used to rank Division 1 teams, and qualifying for the NCAAs in 2001.

To open this season’s campaign, Nichols took his squad to the other coast for a pair of tournaments against some of the best teams in the country. Though the Huskies took their lumps with a 1-5 start, they stayed competitive against such powers as Cal State–Northridge, St. Mary’s, California–Irvine, and Loyola Marymount. Despite the losses, Nichols pronounces the trip a big success.

“When you’re a top one-hundred academic institution, you have to draw nationally for students,” Nichols says. “It’s the same in volleyball. You have to honor your California kids and play in their areas. Seven recruits saw us play on this trip, and we played very well. That exposure is how you build a program.”

Having Ursillo around as a two-time All-Conference setter hasn’t hurt, either. She dominates matches with her instincts and court sense. After growing up on the sand, watching uncle Ricci Luyties star in the pro beach circuit, Ursillo comes by her skills honestly.

“I pretty much spent my childhood watching the world’s best pro beach players on a daily basis,” she says. “Uncle Ricci’s college roommate was Karch Kiraly”—both men are Olympic gold-medal winners—“and I’ve been playing with them since I was about eight years old. That was a huge factor in my development.”

Ursillo’s ability has helped her team become a regional power. Northeastern was picked second this year in the America East preseason coaches’ poll, behind New Hampshire, last year’s champion. By the season’s two-thirds mark, the Huskies had amassed a 15-6 record.

Nichols, who is particularly proud of his team’s 3.28 overall grade point average, is clearly ready for another trip to the big dance.

“We’ve made steady progress since I’ve been here,” he says. “We have more talented players than ever before, and we feel we’re stronger, faster, and smarter as well. I’m very happy with the direction we’re going in.”