The Red Sox are terrible. If you’re a member of Red Sox Nation and you’ve voluntarily watched a game in the last two months, you must be a masochist. With a season full of clubhouse turmoil, managerial uncertainty and wholesale trades, this year has been as scarring for Red Sox fans as the memories of their collapse last season.
But amidst the promise and excitement of a new school year, the fresh faces on campus and the crisp tingle of autumn air, there also enters a new college athletic season to distract fans from the Red Sox’ woes. If you are part of the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free from baseball, fear not, for Northeastern fall sports are in full swing.
Many NU students only tune in during winter to catch hockey and basketball season, but fall sports, particularly this year’s fall teams, may be the school’s best chance at deep postseason runs. Perhaps our fellow Huskies can help ease the pain of another lost baseball season and help return Boston to its winning ways.
The field hockey team might be the best Northeastern sports team this year. The now No. 7 ranked women defeated two preseason Top 25 teams in No. 23 University of Louisville and No. 20 Northwestern University at the Sherrill Brakmeier Classic in late August. The girls then began September with wins over No. 6 University of Virginia and No. 20 Michigan State University last weekend.
Huntington News reporter Andy MacDougall wrote a great article last week documenting the lack of field space available to the team. They have been forced to alternate between using fields at Boston College and Bentley University. Interested parties may have to literally jump on a caravan to catch the girls in action, but after breaking into the Top 10 in this week’s National Field Hockey Coaches poll, it will be well worth it.
Also worthy of serious attention is the men’s soccer team. Despite a tough 4-1 loss to Michigan last weekend, the men are still 3-1 on the season. With an attack led by senior forward Don Anding (2 goals) and strong defense from senior keeper Oliver Blum (2 goals allowed, 1 shutout in four games), the Huskies should enter Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play strong later this month.
Last, but certainly not least, is women’s volleyball. They are currently 8-3 after the Beanpot Classic – which they won for the second consecutive year – UCSB Invitational and Duke Classic. Their success should come as no surprise. The Huskies entered the 2012 season the preseason CAA favorite, as voted by the conference’s coaches.
Sophomore libero Natalia Skiba has been a big part of the team’s exploits on the court. Skiba has already been named CAA Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. With the friendly confines of Solomon Court right inside the Cabot Center on campus, there is truly no excuse to miss the Huskies bump, set and spike.
While the notion of a winning team in Boston might be hard for its sports fans to conceptualize right now, there are some watchable sporting events within the city limits. In some cases, you don’t even need to leave campus.
– Dylan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]
