An ugly burned man with knives for fingers that kills you in your dreams is pretty scary, but the America East isn’t losing sleep over Freddy Krueger. What’s keeping the rest of the conference hiding under the covers is the fact that after last Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over host Siena College, the Northeastern women’s soccer team is 5-1 despite having numerous key players out with injuries.

The Huskies are relying on depth and shut down defense to carry this team while key offensive players like senior Liz Dyjak and junior Filippa Petruccelli slowly work themselves back into the line up. If the loss of Dyjak, the school’s all time leading scorer, wasn’t bad enough, fellow senior Andi Matthews, the team’s defensive leader, has also been out of the lineup.

“It’s very encouraging that we’re playing so well without some key players,” said head coach Ed Matz. “Our D has been big for us early.”

In the Huskies’ first six games of the season they have used six different starting lineups, a fact that would be discouraging if they weren’t winning.

“We have a balanced attack,” Matz said. “And our defense has been excellent this year.”

Sophomore Siobhan Howard gave the Huskies the only offense they needed when she put in her first goal of the season Tuesday night against the Pioneers. The win gives Northeastern a perfect record on the road, with their only loss of the season coming in the friendly confines of Parsons Field last Monday night against Marist College. Senior Cynthia Slowik earned the win on and the shutout on Tuesday, in her first start of 2004. Slowik has started 39 games in her career at NU, including every game the past two seasons.

“With all the injuries we’ve faced, its given us an opportunity to mix things up and get different people on the field,” Matz said. “The crazy thing is we probably won’t peak until October.”

For a team that’s a few weeks away from peaking, the Huskies sure looked good in their shutout win over Sacred Heart last Sunday night.

Entering the game, the Huskies offensive production had come solely from forwards and defensemen, but the midfield combo of juniors Jess Pfeifer and Jessie Haidamaka made sure that changed against the Pioneers. Pfeifer started the scoring with her first goal of the season when she beat SH keeper Ashley Mocarski with just over two minutes remaining in the first half on a 15-yard direct kick. After the break the Huskies picked up right where they left off, when Haidamaka notched her first goal of the season, beating Mocarski upper left, and giving the Huskies the only two goals they would need to pull off their fourth win of the young 2004 season.

“We mentioned after the loss to Marist that all our goals had come from forwards and defensemen, and [Sunday] two midfielders score,” Matz said. “Whenever we challenge this team they step up.”

Having to make just three saves, junior keeper Mariel Wilner, a transfer from the University of Maryland, picked up her second shut out of the season.

“[Wilner] isn’t just a good goalkeeper,” Matz said. “She’s very focused, and is very good at directing the players in front of her.”

No team wants to have injuries early in the season, but in the long run, the adversity they face now can turn into experience down the road.

“Everybody on the team has played in a game this year,” said junior defender Jackie Spellman. “We all know the system, so it’s no different when someone steps on the field and when someone steps off.”

The hobbled Huskies are back in action, and back on the road Friday afternoon when they venture across the river for a 3 p.m. match up against Harvard. They return to Parsons Monday night at 6 p.m. where they’ll play host to Holy Cross.

Injury Report: Dyjak didn’t play against Siena or Sacred Heart, but is probable for Friday’s game at Harvard, however Matthews is only listed as questionable and probably won’t play until the Huskies return home for Monday’s game against Holy Cross.