By: Zach Hayes, News Staff
Senior forward Nick Lueders and junior midfielder Mike Kennedy contributed one goal apiece in the team’s 2-2 double overtime draw against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener Saturday night.
“This is the second game we came out flat, which can’t happen if we want to reach our goal and win the CAA,” senior defender Matt Sanford said. “We were able to fight our way out of two holes this weekend which was an improvement from past games. We didn’t play real well for our first CAA contest, but we were able to fight back and get a point on the road which is always tough.”
The Rams opened scoring with a goal in the 14th minute courtesy of forward Jake Van Yahres on a long pass through the middle by defenseman Brad Seymour. The shot from 25 yards out found the top of the net just out of the reach of Huskies’ sophomore goalkeeper Oliver Blum.
Lueders nearly converted a scoring opportunity in the 30th minute, but VCU keeper Gabriel Rodriguez turned away the shot. Rodriguez didn’t have the same luck eight minutes later when Lueders streaked through the Rams’ box and scored his first goal of the 2010 season to tie the match.
The Rams added their second score of the game 45 seconds into the second half off of a penalty kick from forward C.J. Gehin-Scott, which gave the Rams a one-goal advantage.
Kennedy, the Huskies’ top goal scorer and points leader this season, atoned for a strike late in the first half that hit the crossbar. The midfielder was granted another opportunity after a referee called a VCU foul. Kennedy’s penalty kick found the back of the net for the Huskies second equalizing goal of the contest.
“Mike has a forwards mentality out on the wing which makes him very dangerous going forward,” Sanford said. “It’s what we need from the guy we expect to score.”
After sophomore forward Don Anding just missed a potential game-winning goal with two minutes to play in regulation and Blum thwarted a VCU free kick into the box, the two teams headed for extra sessions. Blum made a key diving stop on a VCU scoring chance late in the second overtime that kept the score tied. The Providence transfer made three saves on the night and now sports a 1.43 goals-against average on the season.
The Huskies out-shot the Rams 4-3 in the two overtime periods, but VCU collected more shots in the entire match by a 19-15 advantage. The referees called Northeastern for 13 fouls compared with 12 for VCU.
With the draw, the Huskies are now 2-4-1 on the season and 0-0-1 in CAA play. They have the week off before their next game on Saturday, at Parsons Field at 2 p.m. against conference foe James Madison University. JMU sits third in the CAA with a 6-1 overall record and a 1-0 conference record.
