By Eoghan Kelly, News Staff
The men’s soccer team was not going to let anyone or anything ruin its perfect home record in 2011.
Definitely not the No. 7 team in the country, Old Dominion University (ODU), which invaded Parsons Field Saturday night. Nor the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) top scorer in 2011, ODU’s Yannick Smith. Not even a rare October snowfall, courtesy of Mother Nature.
The Huskies overcame all obstacles on senior day to upset ODU 2-0 Saturday, thanks to a pair of goals from senior forward Josh Semerene. With the win, they clinched their fifth playoff berth in six years and finished the 2011 season 7-0-0 at home.
“It was huge for everyone,” senior forward Mike Kennedy said. “Everyone played really well and everyone contributed, and the boys are feeling really good. It’s just gonna give us a lot of confidence.”
“It was huge for everyone,” senior forward Mike Kennedy said. “Everyone played really well and everyone contributed, and the boys are feeling really good. It’s just gonna give us a lot of confidence.”
Northeastern (10-5-2, 6-3-1 CAA) stymied Smith and the No. 1 offense in the CAA on the heels of junior goalkeeper Oliver Blum’s second consecutive clean sheet and fifth of the season, which earned him CAA Co-Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 31.
“I think it’s kind of a big boost of confidence for the team,” Blum said. “Our team shut out two teams [Drexel University Oct. 26 and ODU], not necessarily me, so I think the whole team can kind of take it as a boost of confidence that we’re playing well. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going.”
“I think it’s kind of a big boost of confidence for the team,” Blum said. “Our team shut out two teams [Drexel University Oct. 26 and ODU], not necessarily me, so I think the whole team can kind of take it as a boost of confidence that we’re playing well. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going.”
Each of Blum’s shutouts came at Parsons Field and he attributed his and the Huskies’ collective success at home to the comfort they experience when playing on their own turf.
“I think it’s just because we’re a little more comfortable at home,” the 6-foot-2-inch, North Yarmouth, Maine native said. “It’s hard for teams to come up to Boston to play. The majority of teams in our conference are from the South and we know that, so we try to use that to our advantage.”
For the second consecutive game, the Huskies featured a three-forward formation comprised of junior Don Anding, Semerene and Kennedy. Despite a scoreless first half, the offensively-oriented formation proved hard to stop.
When ODU (11-4-0, 7-3-0 CAA) lost possession following a throw-in at the 57-minute mark, sophomore midfielder Dante Marini took down a bouncing ball and dribbled to the top of the penalty box before sliding a through ball to Anding. Monarch goalkeeper Victor Francoz came off his line and Anding found a wide-open Semerene in front of goal to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead.
“I knew Don [Anding] wasn’t gonna have the best angle to shoot,” Semerene said. “So I got myself into position where he could pass me the ball and he found me with a good pass. All I had to do was tap it home.”
But Semerene’s night wasn’t finished yet.
Just four minutes later, Kennedy finessed a cross from the edge of the 18-yard box and connected with Semerene, who leapt above an ODU defender and headed the ball off the far post and past Francoz. The score doubled the Huskies’ lead and was the fifth of the year for Semerene.
Head coach Brian Ainscough said scoring the second goal allowed the Huskies to enter their comfort zone.
“I think getting two quick ones on the bounce like that really sort of allowed us to relax a little bit and sort of put the other team back on their heels,” Ainscough said. “Once we got up 2-0, we felt comfortable.”
Kennedy commended Semerene for his play in a game where the pressure on Northeastern was at its highest.
“Obviously [Semerene] had a huge game for us,” Kennedy said. “It was probably his best game of the year and on the biggest stage for us, so it was huge for him … Hopefully he will be able to keep that up.”
“Obviously [Semerene] had a huge game for us,” Kennedy said. “It was probably his best game of the year and on the biggest stage for us, so it was huge for him … Hopefully he will be able to keep that up.”
ODU players were not without chances in the game. They produced six corner kicks and five shots on goal, the majority of each came in the second half. But in the end, Northeastern’s play in the back, particularly on Blum’s part, shut down any chance the Monarchs produced.
Semerene said that the sloppy conditions played a large factor in the Huskies’ success as well.
“I think it definitely helped us,” Semerene said. “We’re used to playing in the cold and in those types of conditions on the turf where it plays a bit quicker. The weather gave us a little bit of an advantage there.”
Saturday’s win was the final home game for Northeastern’s seniors. Six players were honored before the game: Kennedy, Semerene, defenders Jeremy Klein, Ryan Burnham and Top Phataraprasit, and midfielder Eric Dyer. Kennedy said it was a memorable way to round up their careers at home.
