Everyone’s had those days when nothing seems to go their way, but for the Northeastern men’s soccer team, it’s just been one of those seasons. After being shutout 2-0 by the College of the Holy Cross (4-1) Tuesday night in Worcester, the fifth time they have been blanked this year, the Huskies officially ended their pre-conference slate with a record of 1-5 and having scored just two goals in their six games.

“It’s starting to be a bigger problem,” said junior forward Jeff Gannon. “We’re not scoring and giving up too many goals.”

Junior keeper Sergio Saccoccio once again played solid in net for NU against the Crusaders, but his 11 saves weren’t good enough to pick up the win, as the Huskies put just seven shots on net compared to Holy Cross’ 13.

“It was exactly like all our other losses,” Gannon said. “We’re really disappointed.”

The Huskies offensive woes continued last Saturday when they traveled to Peoria, Ill., for a non-conference matchup against Bradley University. The Braves (4-2) shutout NU 3-0 in front of 908 fans and handed the Huskies yet another shutout defeat.

The game was scoreless for most of the first half, but the Braves broke down the NU defense with just six minutes left before the break and added a crushing blow just three minutes later, sending the Huskies into the half down 2-0 and reeling with frustration. In the second half, Bradley would add another goal with six minutes left in the game to add a little salt to an already gaping wound.

Saccoccio made four saves in a game that was marred with five yellow cards and a total of 42 fouls. Northeastern’s frustration was evident, as none of their 10 shots ended up on goal. The Braves also had a 6-2 corner kick advantage in the match.

“Everybody’s down,” said senior defender Joey Parrish, a captain, who picked up one of the team’s three yellow cards. “It just seems for us, that when it rains, it pours.”

The rain looked to be clearing up last Wednesday when the Huskies picked up their first win and first two goals of the season after defeating host Quinnipiac University 2-1 in Hamden, Conn. Senior forward Michael Cipriano, who entered the season with the most pressure on him to score goals, lived up to his preseason hype in the 22nd minute. Cipriano scored NU’s first goal of the season with a breakaway shot that beat the Bobcats keeper Con Shilcock-Elliott and ended the Huskies 292 minute scoring drought. The Huskies scored their second and only other goal of the season just seven minutes later when sophomore forward Adam Jenson scored the game winner off a lead pass from junior forward Julian Daniels, giving NU the 2-0 lead.

The Bobcats (2-2) would get one back in the second half, but the Northeastern defense held on to the lead and gave Saccoccio, who made four saves, his first win of the season. The win halted a Qunnipiac two-game winning streak and gave the Huskies a 5-1 all-time record against the Bobcats.

Although NU did score a goal last week, the team has been shutout five times only highlights the glaring weakness that those close to the team have known about since the graduation of forward Atha Kirkopoulos. After last year’s campaign, they have no legitimate threat to open up space for other players.

Unless someone starts making plays on a consistent basis this team will continue to struggle on offense, and won’t win many games.

“We’ve moved players in and out,” said coach Ed Matz. “Right now it’s up to the players on the field.”

A look ahead: The pre-conference nightmare can be looked at two ways. One, it can be seen as a sign of what’s to come in a horrible campaign that sees the Huskies struggle to score all year and end the season out of the playoffs. Two, the slow start can be seen as the kind of adversity a veteran team like this year’s squad needed to go through if they hoped to put together yet another late season charge. Either way it is what it is: a 1-5 start.

Saturday’s America East game against the University of Vermont not only brings a familiar conference opponent to Parsons Field, but also a fresh start.

“Saturday is our second season,” Matz said. “We have a clean slate, everyone starts out even on Saturday.”

Although this is about the worst start they’ve had in recent memory, the Huskies have started slow before and still made have it to the conference championship game a record-tying three straight years. They are still confident they can set a new mark with a fourth appearance this season.

“We’ve always played well in our conference,” Parrish said. “We’re confident we can win in the America East.”

Despite their offensive woes the Huskies boast one of the most, if not the most, battle-tested teams in the America East, with all returning players from last year having at least played in a conference championship and all juniors and seniors having won a championship (NU won the AE championship in 2002). However, experience has got them a total of two goals in six games so far and the team knows that come Saturday it’s all on the line.

“If we don’t win five games, we don’t make the playoffs,” Matz said. “Basically, thats what it is. It’s do or die.”

The game against the UVM Catamounts starts at 4 p.m. Saturday at Parsons field.

Despite suffering a loss at home already this season, the Huskies had a stellar home record of 6-1-1 last season.