By Chris Judd & Jake Fischer, News Staff
The Northeastern men’s soccer team opened up Colonial Athletic Association conference play 2-0 this week, defeating James Madison University on Saturday and Hofstra University on Wednesday night.
Over the weekend, the Huskies fell to an early deficit in Harrisonburg, Va. as JMU’s Steven Mashinski scored the game’s first goal less than four minutes into the match. Sophomore Dylan Faber ran out in an attempt to break up the play, when Mashinski kicked the ball past him for the 1-0 lead.
The Huskies quickly rebounded as senior Dante Marini scored his third goal of the season 48 seconds later. Junior Mike Lobben ran the ball deep down the field and sent a cross to Marini to tie the game up.
The Huskies took the lead three minutes later when Marini had a shot on goal that JMU goalkeeper Bill Groben saved. But fortunately for coach Brian Ainscough’s team, sophomore Terence Carter was there for the rebound and put the ball in for his third goal of the season and a 2-1 Northeastern lead.
“It was nice to get the early goals,” Marini said. “I don’t think we scored early yet this year. It felt good to get the monkey off our backs. We’ve had some injuries and no continuity. The past few games there was more continuity up front and we started gelling.”
JMU pressured the Huskies, but Faber made two saves in two minutes. He ended the game with five saves. Both Northeastern and JMU had 11 shots, while the Huskies led in corner kicks 4-2.
With a successful start to conference play under their belts, the team returned to Parsons Field to take on the Hofstra Pride, one of the top contenders to the Huskies’ CAA title last season.
“There’s going to be a little something extra in this game since we beat them in the championship last year,” Marini said before the game. “We definitely want to jump on them early and then sustain the pressure.”
Northeastern did just that, protecting their home field and collecting their fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over the Pride.
Faber and the Huskies’ entire defensive unit masterfully protected the net, as Faber tallied four saves and Northeastern only allowed four Hofstra shots on goal.
With their defensive prowess, Ainscough’s club dominated the pace of the game and was able to generate an aggressive offensive attack after getting stop after stop from their back four.
That offensive pressure, which Marini alluded to, overwhelmed the Hofstra defense in the 25th minute when Carter found the back of the net for the second straight game. The London native’s goal came off a tip from freshman Robbie Schallmo after a Dante Marini cross to the center of the box.
“It was a bit chippy, I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” Carter said. “I’ve been in the right places the last few games, so hopefully I can just continue doing that.”
Carter’s two goals this week are his first since he scored twice against Fairfield back on Sept. 7, a performance that earned him CAA Player of the Week. Since their 5-2 victory over the Stags, Northeastern had only scored four goals in six games before their win over James Madison. But with Carter’s improved play and the entire offensive seemingly clicking, this team should have a great opportunity to defend their conference crown.
“We’ve been really frustrated. I actually had a week off due to injury and had a chance to just get my mind clear,” Carter said. “Coming back, I’ve just forgotten about everything and gotten really focused. Dante’s always been working hard. All the freshmen are really working hard. The defense is making it easier for us to get good shots. We’re going to be alright.”
Northeastern took its 1-0 lead into halftime and Marini added to the lead with a penalty kick in the 50th minute after getting tripped up in the box. The senior captain’s score was his team-leading 13th point of the season and gave the Huskies a 2-0 victory in front of their home crowd.
The Huskies will go back on the road this weekend to take on Drexel University in Philadelphia Saturday at 4 p.m.
