By Eoghan Kelly, News Staff
To find the men’s soccer team’s last loss, one would have to delve backward in the Northeastern records to Sept. 9 when the Huskies suffered a 4-1 blowout at the University of Michigan.
The only things in the records since then are achievements.
Following that loss – Northeastern’s only of the season – the Huskies have won or tied a program-best 11 consecutive games, a streak that was extended with a 2-2 draw at Towson University yesterday afternoon.
In that stretch, the Huskies (11-1-3, 6-0-2 Colonial Athletic Association) have also gone undefeated at home for the second consecutive season, tied the program record for most consecutive wins and secured a berth in the CAA tournament.
Northeastern is currently second in the conference standings and can secure a regular season championship with a win and at least a draw in its final two games.
“It was a big win,” senior forward Don Anding said. “It’s a pretty big feat for us so we’re pretty happy about the home streak and everything, so we’re just sort of trying to keep our momentum going.”
What’s more impressive than the Huskies’ accomplishments is the way they’ve earned them.
Northeastern’s defense has springboarded it to the top of the CAA, conceding more than one goal in only three games and limiting the offense’s obligation to score multiple goals to get a victory. The Huskies have five 1-0 wins in 2012.
Their shutdown defensive play has also allowed the Huskies to grind out matches and force them into overtime, where Northeastern has not lost this season (4-0-3).
Anding said the team’s overtime record is a testament to its resiliency.
“We’ve had trouble in the past with overtime games,” Anding said. “I think coming out on top in all the overtime games we have sort of just kept momentum, when in the past we would just lose those games and sort of lose our way for a little bit and have to work back. So I think being able to win those games really gave us the momentum to keep moving forward.”
The Northeastern defense is led by redshirt-sophomore Ambry Moss, a 2011 CAA All-Rookie Team member, sophomore Simon Cox – who has established himself as a two-way player with four goals in 2012, one of which was scored in Wednesday’s draw – and junior Jonathan Eckford.
Junior Conner Alexander, traditionally a centerback, has made the transition to outside back and plays alongside junior Nikko Lara and freshman Devin Devoy.
As a defensive unit, the Huskies have allowed a conference-best 0.86 goals per game.
But senior goalkeeper Oliver Blum is the team’s most valuable defensive player, amassing four shutouts and, going into Wednesday’s game, the eighth-best goals against average and No. 11 save percentage in the NCAA. Blum also made two saves in the team’s 2-1 win over the University of North Carolina-Wilmington on Saturday that set the program record for longest unbeaten streak.
“We know that sometimes we’re not always gonna score, but we have Olly back there so we know we’re gonna get a shutout,” senior midfielder Andre Ciliotta said after a 1-0 double-overtime win over Hofstra University on Oct. 17. “We just have to put one in.”
The team’s offensive attack has complemented its stark defense with consistent goal-scoring, and the Huskies have not been shut out a single time in 2012.
According to head coach Brian Ainscough, junior midfielder Dante Marini and Ciliotta have both battled injuries this season, making way for Northeastern’s young players – sophomore Donovan Fayd’Herbe de Maudave and freshman Terence Carter – to step up. Fayd’Herbe de Maudave and Carter have 11 and eight points, respectively, second- and third-best on the team.
Both pale in comparison to Anding, who has a team-high 28 points – the most of any Northeastern player since 2002 – and five game-winning goals. But the additional offensive production has taken some pressure off of Anding and allowed the Huskies to create a more balanced attack.
Anding and Fayd’Herbe de Maudave scored a goal apiece in both the win over UNCW (6-9-1, 3-5-0 CAA) on Saturday and Wednesday’s draw at Towson (4-9-2, 2-5-2 CAA). Both have five-game scoring streaks of 12 and seven points, respectively, and Anding was named CAA Player of the Week the last two weeks.
“[Fayd’Herbe de Maudave has] been a great influence for the team,” Anding said. “He always brings a lot to the table. The desire he has for the game, motive to win, is relentless and he always sort of gets in the right spot. He’s got that eye for the goal.”
The Huskies have already locked down a postseason spot, but Anding said his team won’t lose focus with so much on the line – including hosting the CAA tournament and earning a first-round bye that would give the Huskies some much-needed rest.
“Qualifying for the playoffs was always a goal, but the spot that we put ourselves in, there’s sort of no looking back now,” Anding said. “Pretty much none of the [CAA] teams like coming up to Boston in November and playing in the cold, playing on the turf, they’re not used to the field and we think we could really use that to our advantage and make it easy for ourselves.”
Northeastern fans will have to wait and see what they pull off next. They return to Parsons Field looking to extend their home-win streak on Saturday.
