By Eoghan Kelly
The Northeastern men’s soccer team never recovered from conceding an early goal Saturday night, dropping a 2-0 road decision to James Madison University (JMU) for their second consecutive loss.
The Huskies now stand at 1-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play and 5-3-1 overall. All of their losses have come on the road, but head coach Brian Ainscough was quick to point out that Northeastern earned two wins and a draw in matches away from Parsons Field.
“It’s not that we can’t win on the road, we just know that it’s always difficult,” Ainscough said. “You’ve got to take care of your home games and get some wins on the road. By the end of the season, hopefully we can get some more wins on the road and get into the playoff picture. That’s always been our goal.”
Ainscough said that going into the game his team was focused on being first on the score sheet to prevent JMU from controlling the match tempo. But the Huskies were shut out for the second time this season and the first time in six matches.
“It was important that we needed to come out and get the first goal,” Ainscough said. “That was our goal going in. If [JMU scores first], they’re very, very good at managing the clock. They slow things down and … really make it difficult to get into any rhythm.”
The Dukes took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute courtesy of a Northeastern miscue and never looked back. After redshirt freshman defender Ambry Moss slipped on the wet grass when receiving a pass, JMU junior forward Paul Wyatt pounced on the loose ball and struck a shot from just inside the penalty box into the right corner past junior keeper Oliver Blum. The tally was Wyatt’s fourth of the season.
The Huskies allowed their opponents to strike first for the first time since a 2-1 overtime win at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sept. 11. Senior defender Ryan Burnham said that the Huskies were intent on not letting the goal swing the momentum of the game against them.
“You can’t let it take the wind out of your sails. You just gotta keep playing,” Burnham added. “I feel like we responded well [to going down a goal] and got a little off track when we didn’t score, but we responded well. We had our chances and we were unfortunate not to finish them. We were just a little unlucky.”
A one-goal lead was all JMU senior goalkeeper Justin Epperson needed. Epperson was perfect Saturday, stopping all of the Huskies’ shots on goal for his fourth consecutive shutout and fifth overall in 2011. The Dukes now sit at 6-1-1 (2-0 CAA) and remain undefeated at home this season.
The goal that put the Huskies away for good at the 76-minute mark was a product of an artful JMU passing play in the Northeastern end. Freshman midfielder Jamal Umar headed a cross from redshirt junior midfielder Christian McLaughlin across the 18-yard box to senior forward Patrick Innes. Innes beat Blum on a one-timed shot from 10 yards out for a 2-0 lead and his sixth goal of the season.
Blum said that the goal was a result of the Huskies pressing up the field in an attempt to level the score.
“The second goal was tough for us because we were trying to push to get an equalizer,” Blum said. “They had a free kick and we didn’t bring as many people back as we normally would have. [Innes] was able to get a good shot by me.”
Ainscough added that the Huskies were anxious to get a goal back and risked leaving their defense exposed to send more players on the attack.
“For us, you might as well lose, 5-0 or 1-0, it doesn’t really matter,” Ainscough said. “We were just trying to get as much offense as we can and we were taking a lot of risks at that time, so we knew we were going to be exposed at the back. That just happens when you’re chasing the game on the road.”
Steady rain and poor field conditions helped contribute to sloppy play as the two sides were whistled for 28 fouls throughout the game. Four Huskies were shown yellow cards, three of which came in the second half.
“On a day like that … there’s going to be more loose balls and more sloppy passes,” Burnham said of the conditions. “You’re going to go into more tackles and more fouls. It’s always emotional when you’re down a goal, but I think that’s the challenge, trying to keep your head and learn how to play in situations like that.”
Northeastern ended the game with an advantage in both total shots and corner kicks, but struggled all night to put the ball on frame and test Epperson. But Ainscough said that it was not due to a lack of opportunities.
“We had four real clear looks at the goal and didn’t take advantage of it [before JMU scored,]” he said. “Even after they got on the board we had some opportunities to get on track. But we just didn’t finish well.”
The two-game skid marks the first losing streak of 2011 for the Huskies. Blum said they will be looking to use the loss to JMU as a learning experience to carry with them through the rest of the season. Their next home game is Saturday against Georgia State University.
“I think we have to play our game and settle down and get in our comfort zone,” Blum said. “I think we just have to perform better on the road, get used to it and not use it as an excuse. Once we get one win on the road, that’ll create a bit of confidence for us and hopefully we can build off of that.”
