The No. 13 Massachusetts field hockey team bounced back while on the road after two straight home losses, defeating Northeastern 2-0 on Wednesday.

After suffering back-to-back losses, a win puts the team on the right track.

“I think it was just really important for us to have a good performance today,” UMass coach Carla Tagliente said. “It definitely is a boost, and helps us put more positive energy throughout the team.”

The Minutewomen (8-4) produced their fourth shutout of the season and held the Huskies (3-7) to just one shot through the first half as the teams went scoreless into halftime.

One minute into the second half, senior forward Molly MacDonnell put a shot into the net from the middle of the attack zone to break the scoreless tie and got UMass on the board first.

MacDonnell said scoring the first goal was a huge momentum shift for the team.

“It was a huge battle. They were a very good team and had very good competition,” she said. “We didn’t want to put them in the game, we wanted to put them on their heels, so scoring right away just kind of dictated that and just kept us flowing into the rest of the half.”

In the 49th minute, Alexa Sikalis dribbled along the right side of the zone and sent a reverse stick shot past Northeastern goalkeeper Becky Garner to extend the Minutewomen lead to 2-0.

After UMass gained the multi-goal advantage, Northeastern came out more aggressively, firing a total of six shots in the second half.

“I think that’s something we need to grow in is our game management, where they have to play down the stretch,” Tagliente said.

Terriers up next for UMass

UMass will travel to Boston again on Sunday to take on No. 20 Boston University for its final non-conference game of the season.

The Terriers (6-3) will travel to Holy Cross on Friday before hosting the Minutewomen. They head into the weekend having won three of their last four matchups.

BU boasts one of the best defenses in the nation, allowing only 1.22 goals per game. The defense is led by goalkeeper Valentina Cerda, who has a .804 save percentage, good for ninth best in the nation.

However, the team’s offense has not been as strong this season, scoring just 1.78 goals per game and tallying more than two goals twice so far this season.

The two teams have met 34 times, with the Terriers holding a slight 18-14-2 advantage, including a 3-2 win in double overtime last year.

MacDonnell believes that when taking on a good defense like BU’s, the key is to attack as a unit.

“Typically, BU has very strong tacklers, and they’re very tall, and they have long reaches,” she said. “So, I think definitely just being able to eliminate them and trying not to do too much as an individual, really just keep strong and play as a unit.”

Sunday’s game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at New Balance Field.

Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on Twitter @jgms88.