By Conor Nevins
The Northeastern men’s soccer team came into their home opener against the Rhode Island Rams (3-1) last Saturday night faced with a lingering problem that has plagued them throughout this young season. On the offensive end they keep coming up short, not tallying any goals in their first two games.
The Huskies (0-3) are still searching for a go-to-guy to step up and take on the brunt of the offensive load. The Huskies have yet to find an offensive spark to replace point-producing whiz and graduated senior Atha Kirkopolous (17 points in 2003). And the offensive woes continued for the Huskies against Rhode Island as they fell 2-0 in the home opener, their third straight 2-0 defeat.
It wasn’t as though the chances weren’t there for Northeastern. An inspired attacking game plan created opportunity for the Huskies to score, and the defense did well to contain an aggressive Rams attack, anchored again by the impressive play of senior goalkeeper Sergio Saccoccio, who made two spectacular saves in the second half to keep the Huskies in the game.
“We moved the ball around well and created a lot of good chances,” said junior midfielder Jeff Gannon. “We had the first real good opportunity but couldn’t take advantage.”
That opportunity came early in the second half as senior forward Michael Cipriano slipped in past the defense but could not convert on the break-away as Rams goalkeeper Dean Ruddy made the save.
Both teams continued to threaten, but it was the Rams who would light up the scoreboard first as freshman Lucasz Tumicz fired a shot past Saccoccio with 20 minutes left. A defensive error would cost the Huskies a second goal, and the game, as senior Sasha Gotsmanov cleaned up an errant pass and then slipped the ball past Saccoccio to make the score 2-0.
While things may look grim on paper for NU, the Huskies are anything but discouraged. Head Coach Ed Matz’s team opened the season with a difficult stretch of games, with all three of their losses coming against teams who played in the NCSAA College Cup last year, college soccer’s equivalent to the NCAA Tournament, and are favored to get there again this year. With an easier stretch of games coming up, the Huskies look to ignite that offensive spark they so desperately need, and find the back of the net for the first time in 2004.
“We’re still looking for that go-to-guy who will provide us with that offense,” said Matz after the game. “The longer we go without scoring the more it plays on our strikers’ minds and our midfielders’ minds. The chances are there, we just need to take advantage of them.”
The Huskies will have another chance to record their first points of the season when they travel to face the Bobcats at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut Wednesday, Sept. 15. NU beat the Bobcats 3-0 when the teams met last year.
