By Dan McLoone

You can’t win unless you learn how to lose.

Originally spoken by former Los Angeles Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, this phrase may perfectly exemplify what the Northeastern Huskies athletic department is looking for this year. With fall sports underway, all of the teams will look to improve upon mediocre showings in their previous seasons.

An exception to this rule, however, will be the women’s soccer team, which will look to defend its title as Colonial Athletic Conference champion. Despite finishing the season just 6-9-6,  the team went 5-2-1 in CAA play, good enough to earn them the number three seed in the conference tournament. There, they defeated the University of Delaware, the College of William & Mary and James Madison University on their way to a conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance. Senior captain and All-CAA Team defender, Bianca Calderone, headlines the seven returning starters. The Huskies will look to win back-to-back conference titles despite being picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll.

The men’s soccer team did not enjoy as successful of a campaign. After last season’s record of 6-9-3, the Huskies will look to find ways to get the ball in the back of the net, without top scorer Dante Marini. With veteran defenders Simon Cox and Ambry Moss captaining the team, opponents should have difficulty scoring on the Huskies. Northeastern also brings in a talented freshman class that should complement the incumbents with their speed on offense. The Huskies ended last season with five consecutive losses, so some early wins to build momentum would be huge for this team as it works to contend in the CAA.

Head volleyball coach Ken Nichols and the Northeastern women’s volleyball team are used to being a conference powerhouse, but their 19-11 season last year (10-4 in the CAA) was only good enough to get them to the conference title game. After falling to the College of Charleston last year, the Huskies have regrouped and are ready to win this year. Northeastern has nine returning players, including two preseason All-CAA Team honorees, senior Natalia Skiba and sophomore Jamie Bredahl. Picked to finish third in the conference behind Charleston and James Madison, the Huskies hope that their returning players will use last year’s experience to lead them to the conference title this year.

Northeastern’s women’s field hockey team also had a postseason run last year after finishing the season 8-13, but the fifth seed’s luck ran out in the conference championship game against Delaware. The team returns several key players, including sophomore midfielder Natalie Stewart and sophomore goalkeeper Becky Garner. The Huskies were picked to finish third in the CAA, only four points behind favorite Delaware in the preseason poll.

With their respective seasons kicking off, there is a lot of optimism on Huntington this year for Northeastern fall athletics. Each team’s strong freshman class and solid returning players are leading many to believe that Northeastern could be a contender to win multiple conference crowns this season. Even the basketball and hockey teams, which start their seasons a bit later in the winter, look to be strong contenders. The Huskies may have struggled last year, but one thing is sure: this year they are ready to win.

Photo by Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics