By Eoghan Kelly, News Staff
When senior forward Don Anding corralled the ball in the left corner of the field on Saturday, the men’s soccer team was less than two minutes away from its first draw of the season.
The Huskies were deadlocked in a scoreless tie with Fairfield University, caught in a double-overtime game for the third time in their first five matches. It was familiar territory for the red and black, whose first two extra-time games – the season-opener Aug. 24 against Providence College and Aug. 28 at Marist College – both resulted in wins.
This game was no different.
With just 92 seconds remaining, Anding possessed the ball and put a cross into the penalty box that freshman forward Terence Carter tucked home with a sliding kick, giving Northeastern the win. It was Carter’s first collegiate goal in his first collegiate start.
For the third consecutive time in 2012, the Huskies survived an overtime match.
“I think that we just had quite a lot of energy,” Carter said Tuesday in a phone interview. “We’re a team that we don’t really give up until right at the death, and you could see that from the last few games.”
Head coach Brian Ainscough could not be reached for comment on this story.
Northeastern was again silenced for more than 15 minutes of overtime, a trend that developed in its first two extra-period battles. Anding made the breakthrough at Marist with 4:24 remaining to lift the Huskies to a 1-0 triumph. Against Providence, junior midfielder Laurence Braude gave Northeastern a 2-1 win with just 31 seconds left on the clock.
Including Saturday’s win, only nine minutes over the course of their three overtime games separate the Huskies (4-1) from a .500 average (1-1-3).
Northeastern would not have been able to hang around against Fairfield, though, if not for the play of freshman keeper Dylan Faber. Faber – starting in place of senior Oliver Blum, who was serving a NCAA-mandated one-game suspension for a red card received in a 4-1 loss to the University of Michigan on Sept. 9 – made five saves to preserve a clean sheet and keep the Huskies in the game.
But Faber shined most, Carter says, when he saved two headed balls off the line five minutes into extra time.
“I think Dylan [Faber] was quality that game,” Carter said “He made some very good saves and kept us in the game … I think he played very well, and it’ll be quite a good battle to see who starts in goal for us the next few games really.”
The saves kept the game scoreless and gave Anding an opportunity to play hero once again. The Amity Harbor, N.Y., native’s assist on Carter’s game-winner extended his point streak to four consecutive games, a stretch that includes the double-overtime winner against Marist just three weeks before.
As a result, the Huskies escaped with their fourth one-goal win of the season, joining No. 14 Old Dominion University (6-0), George Mason University (6-0) and Hofstra University (4-1-1) as the only Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) teams with at least four wins so far in 2012.
The Huskies play their first CAA game of the season Saturday when they visit the College of William & Mary (2-3-1). It has not yet been announced whether Blum or Faber will start.
Carter, who was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday, says his team knows how important it is to enter conference play with a strong record, and their double-overtime victories will definitely give the Huskies a boost.
“The more you win, the more confidence you get as a team,” said Carter, a native of London.” We’re just communicating quite well, we just keep fighting, keep battling for each other, so I think it will be a hard game for us seeing as we’re away, but I still think we can go and get a win down there.”
Carter says he hopes his team can earn a victory in regular time Saturday.
But if the Huskies are again forced to battle into extra time, he is confident they’ll be ready.
“I think we’d prefer to win the game in the 90 [minutes of regulation],” Carter said. “Having so many overtimes, it can go either way … You want to wrap up a game a lot quicker than we have been. I still say that a win’s a win whatever way you get it. So hopefully we can wrap it up a bit earlier than we have been, but regardless if we get the win, then it’ll be good.”
