By Ricky Popolizio
The six seniors on Northeastern’s men’s soccer team, along with their parents, couldn’t have asked for a better Senior Day on Sunday at Parsons Field. Peter Mosconi, Michael Cipriano, Aaron Birnbaum, Joe Parrish, Andrew Hickey and Jay Hanson were all honored alongside their parents as they were introduced before the game.
It was a beautiful day, and the six seniors, along with the rest of the team, ended up having more than just Senior Day to celebrate with a 1-0 victory over University of Hartford on the last regular season home game of the year.
“It went great and this senior class has won more games in America East than any other team,” said NU head coach Ed Matz. “They have been in three straight championships. It was a special day for us to be honoring those guys that did all that for Northeastern soccer.”
The Huskies kept their playoff hopes alive Sunday with the sudden-death overtime victory. With their first win since Sept. 29 versus the University of Vermont, the Huskies (3-9-4, 2-3-3 AE) put an end to their eight-game winless skid during which the team managed only three goals.
With their backs up against the wall and facing the reality of possibly missing the playoffs for the first time in six years, the Huskies responded with a solid effort and a victory. The first half was played evenly with few shots from both teams, and a scoring opportunity did not arise until NU midfielder Jay Betley drilled the cross bar in the 41st minute.
“We are struggling to score, and the longer we go without scoring, the tougher it becomes creating chances,” Matz said.
The scoring drought continued into the second half, despite more shooting and chances on both ends of the field. In the 49th minute, NU star goalkeeper Sergio Saccoccio made a leaping save, trapping the ball against the cross bar with his hands and forcing it out of bounds in the process.
“We tried a new formation. It got us ready for this game and hopefully we will have a big turnaround for the last couple games of the season,” Saccoccio said. “It is working a lot better with the players we have on the field.”
A collision between Cipriano and Hartford’s Mike Pereira in the 62nd minute as Pereira tried to cut Cipriano off, sent a scare through Parsons Field. Within a few minutes, Cipriano got up on his own power, but Pereira remained on the ground motionless.
“He was conscious, but I don’t know how serious it was,” said Parrish, a Husky co-captain.
After a 20-minute delay, he was carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital. The injury allegedly involved his neck.
In only his third game appearance of the year, freshman Jonathan Show finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 96th minute. The goal came off a corner kick by Jeff Gannon. Betley won the header and put the ball on net. The keeper allowed a rebound that Show was able to head high into the empty corner of the net.
“It was a huge goal for us and keeps us alive in the playoff hunt,” Matz said. “We have been creating chances for most of the season. Today was a matter of catching a break and getting a goal. The formation is helping, but today’s win is not attributed to it.”
Show was put in the game with 30 minutes to go in the second half and made the most of his time while scoring his first goal as a Husky.
“It was do or die for us, so it was just awesome,” said Show, who plays both midfield and forward. “It was really exciting, not playing that much and then scoring the game-winning goal. It was unreal that I actually scored the goal — unbelievable.”
Saccoccio earned his third shutout of the year with the win.
“We haven’t scored much, but at least we got one when we did and still have a chance to make the playoffs,” Saccoccio said.
Northeastern out shot Hartford 16-9 in the game. Parrish and Mosconi each received a yellow card.
On Wednesday, the Huskies lost a heartbreaker to the powerhouse Boston College Eagles (11-3-1) in overtime. In what would have been a major upset over NCAA 10th-ranked Boston College, Northeastern came up just short, giving up the game’s only goal with about a minute to play in overtime.
Scoring chances were at a premium during the first half for both teams and neither squad seemed to be able to find the net. Senior Andrew Hickey had the best chance early in the half when he found himself wide open by the net. However, his kick went high. The Eagles had their share of quality scoring chances as well in the first half, including a three-on-one resulting in a shot by junior forward Uri Magden-David that went wide.
The game remained scoreless until about a minute left in overtime, when Eagle’s freshman midfielder Satoshi Mitsuda capitalized on a headed ball that ended up in front of the net for an easy goal. Northeastern received two yellow cards during the game. BC and NU each had 10 shots in the contest.
“They are the No. 10 ranked team in the country,” Matz said. “We played great and controlled the tempo. We had plenty of chances but didn’t get a goal.”
A lack of goal scoring has been the team’s biggest problem throughout the year, as well as the reason for Matz’s decision to change formation.
“We played pretty well. It’s been the same story all year. We have been in games, but haven’t gotten that clutch goal,” Parrish said. “We switched up our formation before the game to generate more offense. The results weren’t there, but it was almost like a tune up for the last couple games of the season.”
The Huskies are looking to capture the sixth and final playoff berth in the America East tournament when they play their final game of the regular season at Stony Brook on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Huskies need to win and hope for a loss or tie from the University of Vermont or University of Maryland-Baltimore County to be eligible for the last playoff spot.
“Spirits are pretty high right now,” Parrish said. “We are pretty confident that if we win we will get in [the playoffs].”
