By Conor Nevins
Coming into the final three games of the regular season, the Northeastern men’s soccer team knew they had their work cut out for them if they hoped to qualify for postseason play in the Colonial Athletic Association.
For weeks, the Huskies’ hopes of extending their season hung in the balance, game after game, keeping themselves in reach of the sixth and final playoff spot.
Those hopes were subsequently dashed as NU went on the road for its final three games and lost all three, including the season finale at Hofstra Friday.
“It’s a tough way to end the season, losing the last three games like that,” senior goalkeeper and captain Sergio Saccoccio said. “The level of play in this conference is a lot better, a lot faster, with more skilled players. But I think we showed that we can compete in this league.”
Saccoccio, the all-time NU leader in saves and minutes played, had positive words about the team he led for four years.
“We should do pretty well next season,” he said. “We’re returning with some pretty good players and have a good shot at making the postseason next year.”
Looking back, Saccoccio recalled the most memorable experience in his four years playing for the Huskies. It was NU’s first ever NCAA playoff win, a 7-6 penalty kick shootout win over Lehigh. Saccoccio made two saves during the shootout.
“I would say the most memorable experience I have is playing in the NCAA tournament my freshman year,” Saccoccio said. “It was my first college season and we weren’t supposed to even make the tournament, so to win like that was a great feeling.”
With nothing on the line, the Huskies faced Hofstra (12-4-3, 7-2-2 CAA) in New York on Friday. Once again, the Huskies put themselves in an early hole, giving up a penalty kick to Chris Cox just two minutes in.
The Pride extended their lead to two goals twenty minutes later, as senior Michael Todd scored his 11th goal of the year. The game ended 2-0, marking the end of the line for Ainscough and his squad. NU finished the year 3-9-6 (2-4-5 in the CAA).
Ainscough knew the challenges facing his team in its first year in a new conference, and saw many positives throughout the season, despite the struggles they faced.
“At the end of the season, I think we could have gotten a little more out of some of our games, but we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Ainscough said. “Coming into a new conference, all we wanted to do was have meaningful games and try for positive results, and we were close to that.”
Ainscough knows one of the main challenges his team now faces is replacing the senior class of Saccoccio and fellow captains Jeff Gannon and Tom Heimreid. Midfielder David Downing and forward Jay Betley can all be added to that list.
“We’re losing some of the better players we have,” Ainscough said. “But I like the group of guys we have, and we have to continue to build and get better.”
Ainscough feels the challenges his team faced in a more skilled and competitive conference this season will pay dividends in coming years.
“The quality of play in this conference I think is stronger than the America East,” Ainscough said. “We went down into some areas that we’re not used to, like Virginia and Georgia. But that’s only going to help in making us better, and it will be great for recruiting.”
