By Matthew MacCormack, news correspondent
As the fall sports season rolls on, it looks like the Northeastern women’s soccer team appears to be finding its form. The defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions faced a tantalizing brace of games last week. The Huskies lost a 1-0 heartbreaker at home to Boston College before traveling to Maine to deliver a 4-0 trouncing to the Black Bears.
To start the week, the ladies hit the pitch to face the Boston College Eagles, a successful Atlantic Coast Conference program. The Eagles were the Huskies’ first matchup with a nationally-ranked team this season. As the sun set on Parsons Field, the black-and-red-toting super-fans of the “Dog House”piled into the stands to watch the fourth home game of the season.
The Huskies created several scoring chances in the first 45 minutes of play, keeping the BC defenders on their toes throughout the first half. The prowess of sophomore Kimberly Slade was on full display, as the creative midfielder sent two balls into the box off of a free kick. The first one cross-connected off the head of freshman striker Hannah Lopiccolo but was parried away by BC goalkeeper Alex Johnson. The second also failed to result in a score.
Despite the attacking efforts of the Huskies, it was the Eagles who scored first. BC sophomore striker Hayley Dowd powered a header past the outstretched arms of Husky senior goalie Paige Burnett with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Northeastern responded well in the closing moments of the first, but couldn’t equalize before the half-time whistle.
In the second half, a more attack-oriented Husky lineup applied constant pressure to the BC defense. Trailing 1-0 in the final minutes, the girls finally got their chance when sophomore defender Mackenzie Dowd’s headed effort on goal was blocked by a BC defender. The block produced a rebound, and sophomore striker Taylor Caparo got to the loose ball first. Her header on goal was once again stopped short by the BC backline. The game ended shortly after, with BC clinging to their 1-0 advantage.
Although the Huskies’ couldn’t equalize by game’s end, head coach Tracey Leone reflected positively on what proved to be an impressive performance against a ranked team.
“From back to front, everyone played incredibly well,” Leone said. “Whenever you hold a team like BC to one goal, you’re happy, but we wanted to hold them to zero.”
Freshman striker Kayla Cappuzzo, whose efforts Leone referred to as “phenomenal,” echoed her coach’s thoughts.
“If you look at the shots for and against, we were the better team on paper. We just couldn’t execute,” Cappuzzo said.
The Huskies put five shots on goal, with the Eagles mustering only two.
With a tough loss in the rearview, the girls set their sights on their next opponent, the Maine Black Bears.
The ladies’ trip north turned out to be a little more rewarding. After tying Maine at home last year, the Huskies were prepared to make the BC loss a thing of the past.
It didn’t take long for the ladies to make their mark. Sixteen seconds into the game, Northeastern sophomore forward Taylor Caparo cleaned up a rebound off of a header on goal by teammate Kimberly Slade, a sophomore midfielder, and the Huskies found themselves on top early, 1-0.
In addition to opening up the scoring in the game, Caparo’s goal was the first of her collegiate career. The sophomore said she felt “so excited” to finally fill up the stat sheet.
A second goal for NU came in the dying moments of the first half, as Hannah Lopiccolo fired a shot that was bobbled by Maine keeper Elise Applegate. The rebound bounced to senior striker Lahaina Zoller, who sent the shot home. The goal gave the Huskies a commanding two-goal lead to take into the second half.
By scoring in the first five minutes as well as the final five of the half, the ladies netted two “Big 5” goals, which Coach Leone believes ultimately decide games.
“Right before the game, we had a team talk,” Caparo said. “And [coach] brought up the Big 5, and she wanted us to come out strong and get a quick goal.”
Husky domination continued in the second half, as Mackenzie Dowd netted a goal off a corner in the 64th minute. Fellow sophomorestandout forward Haley Sinclair put home a rebound from the striker position.
“Anytime you can get an early goal like that, it relieves a lot of stress, and the same thing goes for finishing out the first half with a goal to extend the lead heading into the break,”Leone said. “We did a great job staying focused, and knew that we had to keep completing passes successfully to get [more goals].”
Next up, the Huskies take on University of Massachusetts Amherst on Thursdayat Parsons Field, and on Sundaywill battle rival Boston University, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year.
Even after such a successful week, the ladies know that they still have work to do, as they look to pile up the victories before heading into Colonial Conference play.
“We’ll have to be really focused and hungry to do well against these teams,” Leone said. “We’re gonna have to come ready to go.”
Photo by Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
