By Ethan Schroeder, news correspondent
The Northeastern University men’s soccer team maintained its position in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoff quest this week with a 3-2 overtime victory at the University of Delaware and a 1-0 loss to the College of William & Mary at Parsons Field.
The Huskies (6-10-0) entered Wednesday’s matchup against the Delaware Blue Hens (10-5-1) set firmly in the middle of the CAA standings. The top six teams in the nine-team division move on to the tournament beginning Nov. 8. NU’s extra-time thriller improved its chances of extending the season.
For the first time in six games, Northeastern was able to score in the first half. In the 20th minute, freshman forward Frantzdy Pierrot maintained possession as he worked his way down the right side of the goalie box before cutting back in past a defender and burying the ball in the left side of the goal. With Delaware senior midfielder Ben Astante converting on a diving header 17 minutes later, the teams made their way into the break tied at 1-1.
Delaware was able to find its rhythm following Pierrot’s strike and preserve that momentum in the second half. The Blue Hens took the lead only four minutes in when sophomore midfielder Guillermo Delgado was able to put a 19-yard free kick under a wall of Northeastern defenders and past redshirt senior goalkeeper Jacob Aduama. Over the course of the game, Delaware outshot the Huskies 14-8. As the half progressed and the Blue Hens continued to find offensive chances, it looked as though NU’s conference record would slip to under .500 for the first time this season.
Northeastern played with new life in the 72nd minute in the form of a corner kick that found the head of freshman forward Ackim Mpofu. However, neither team was able to convert in the final 18 minutes of regulation, forcing an extra period. Only two minutes of that extra period would be necessary. Pierrot tallied his second score of the night and the game winner by getting a foot on a corner kick from redshirt freshman midfielder Daniel Arvidsson for the 3-2 victory.
“We came out hard and played as a team,” Pierrot said. “I was able to put two in the net. It’s a big win.”
Northeastern hoped to ride the wave of confidence from last Wednesday’s victory into Saturday’s game against William & Mary, but ran into the same goal-scoring woes that plagued them in the previous week when the Huskies were outscored by a total of 7-0. The Huskies controlled the game for the majority of the first half, beginning in the first minute when Mpofu nearly managed to score on a strong volley. In the 34th minute, Pierrot was able to put a shot from the top of the box on net, but senior goalkeeper Bennett Jones stifled all shots sent his way.
The game continued at a 0-0 stalemate up until the 58th minute when the Tribe struck for the game’s only goal. NU lost possession of the ball at midfield and, on the counter-attack, Tribe sophomore forward Reilly Maw bounced a shot off the left post of the goal to make it 1-0. The home team almost sparked some late-game magic with seven shots following the goal, but was unsuccessful on all attempts, falling to sixth place in the conference with a record of 3-3. Head Coach Brian Ainscough said he was disappointed in the team’s inconsistency against William & Mary.
“It’s a young team,” Ainscough said. “We don’t know what team is going to show up. We showed up against one of the best teams in the league in Delaware on their own turf and played a fabulous game, but it’s just like a roller coaster. On a night at home where everything was set up for us to do well, we couldn’t take advantage of it.”
Pierrot’s performance against Delaware and William & Mary earned him his third CAA Rookie of the Week award of the season.
With only two games left on the team’s regular season schedule, Northeastern will have to find some form of success this week if it plans on extending its season. Ainscough is confident the Huskies will bounce back from Saturday’s loss and quickly get back on track, citing the team’s youth as a positive aspect in this case.
“I think our new faces are the fearless type,” he said. “It’s new to all of them, so I don’t think that they’re going to dwell on this game too much. We don’t have time to do that.”
The Huskies return home on Saturday to play James Madison University for Senior Night.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
