“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” head coach Brian Ainscough said days before Wednesday’s victory. “We really [have] to worry about Wednesday and get a few points on the board because we really want to be in the playoffs, in those final six spots going forward.”
Lucky for Ainscough and his team, single goal was all that was needed, as the Huskies improved to 8-4-2 overall and 4-2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. The Huskies are 5-0-0 at home in 2011.
A steady rain created sloppy conditions throughout the match, the two sides combining for 27 fouls, five yellow cards and countless miscues. The Huskies managed only four shots on goal, all of which came in the second half. But their breakthrough came in the 87th minute off the foot of junior midfielder Don Anding.
Sophomore midfielder Dante Marini took over the ball inside the Tigers’ half and played a ball to sophomore forward Ricardo McDonald at the top of the 18-yard box. McDonald slotted a through ball to senior midfielder Mike Kennedy, and Kennedy blasted a shot at Towson (1-10-1, 0-7-0 CAA) senior keeper John Steele. Steele made the initial save, but the rebound fell to Anding, who tucked the ball into the side netting for his first goal of the season.
One goal was all the Huskies needed, as junior goalkeeper Oliver Blum was perfect, making his only save of the game in the first half for his third clean sheet of the season.
The Huskies conceded the first goal in both of their matches last week, a recurring trend that has plagued them in seven of their 13 games in 2011. But Northeastern came out of each contest on top, coming from behind to steal a 1-1 tie at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) Saturday and a 3-2 victory at Hofstra University Wednesday.
“What we’re really having a problem with now is giving up goals and having to come back all the time,” Ainscough said. “We don’t want to be doing this all season.”
Northeastern, who now sit at 7-4-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the CAA, were forced to play catch-up Saturday when the Seahawks broke open the match’s scoring in the 67th minute. Jack Ward took a cross from the right side, stepping in front of a Husky defender and beating junior goalkeeper Oliver Blum from 12 yards out for Ward’s first goal of the season.
Ainscough said the goal was given up a bit too easily but managed to bring the Huskies to attention for the remainder of the game.
The Huskies drew the match even just seven minutes later. When the Seahawks (3-9-1, 1-5-1 CAA) botched a clearance following a corner kick from senior midfielder Mike Kennedy, the ball fell to senior defender Ryan Burnham. The Northeastern co-captain tucked it past keeper Brandon Miller, marking his second tally in three games.
“Ryan is obviously one of our most consistent players out here,” Ainscough said. “We know he can get forward well and he’s scored goals in the past for us, but he’s just digging in and helping us every way he can. He’s been great for us all season.”
Despite the misleading score line, the match was anything but a defensive standoff. The two sides traded shots through the game, combining for a total of 37. Blum had a season high of seven saves and Miller six.
Senior midfielder Josh Semerene praised Blum for giving Northeastern a chance to win against UNCW, as well as in each of the games the goalie has played in this season.
“Olly has been coming up with some huge saves for the past couple games,” Semerene said. “He’s really been a help keeping us in games and keeping close. I can’t tell you how much Olly’s been helping out our team.”
Blum submitted another solid performance Wednesday against Hofstra (5-7-0, 2-4-0 CAA), making three saves and helping the Huskies hold on for their fifth one-goal victory of the season.
Hofstra forward Shady Saleh played a ball to defender Tyler Botte, who chipped a ball over Blum to give the pride a 1-0 lead. But, true to form, the Huskies bounced back.
“We came out of the gates pretty slow against Hofstra,” Ainscough said. “The goal against us brought us to life and we got after them pretty quick afterwards.”
Semerene equalized in the 25th minute with his third goal of the season. The Weston, Fla., native took over a Hofstra turnover at midfield and streaked up the middle of the field. When he reached the penalty box, he opted to shoot instead of pass and was rewarded, courtesy of a generous bounce off the far post.
“I had the ball at the corner of the 18[-yard box] and I looked up,” Semerene said. “I couldn’t find a pass, so I just shot it toward the back post, and I was pretty lucky.”
The Huskies took the lead for good 11 minutes later when sophomore midfielder Dante Marini took advantage of a broken down corner kick. The ball popped out to Marini, who managed to infiltrate the Hofstra penalty area and pass a ball past sophomore goalkeeper Roberto Pelligrini.
“[Marini] picks up the ball in good spots in the offensive third and seems to have a way of maneuvering past people pretty easily,” Ainscough said. “He always finds a way to get a shot away. It was another great goal, great individual effort.”
It was Marini’s fifth goal of the season, but he credited his improved play in 2011 to the support and on-field camaraderie among Northeastern’s offensive unit: Kennedy, Semerene, sophomore forward Ricardo McDonald and sophomore midfielder Laurence Braude.
“I don’t think it’s so much me being successful as just our style of play,” Marini said. “Just with the guys we have up top…they’re just so dangerous up there that it forces [the opposing team’s] defense to spread out, and it’s just given me a lot more space in the middle to get the ball and get more shots off.”
Kennedy added his third goal of the season when he scored the eventual game-winner in the 83rd minute. From about 25 yards out, Kennedy buried a free kick over a six-man wall and past Pelligrini, marking the first game this season that the Huskies have scored more than two goals.
Marini said that the offensive boost came more as a result of the game’s circumstances than an altered attacking strategy.
“I don’t think it was our best game, but we made do with the conditions on the field and how the other team played,” Marini said. “I think we were able to counterattack on them. We took advantage of it and I think we did a good job to get three goals.”
Northeastern conceded again in the 89th minute, when midfielder Chris Griebsch played a free kick to defender Shaun Foster, who headed the ball past Blum to pull the Pride within one.
However, the Huskies followed up the miscue with an errorless sixty seconds of defense, prevailing by a final score of 3-2.
Despite getting results in both games, Semerene said that the Huskies need to learn from their abbreviated road trip and focus on being first to the score sheet in each of their remaining games.
The Huskies travel to George Mason Saturday at 7p.m.
