By James Duffy, sports editor
The Northeastern University (NU) women’s soccer team saw its five-game winning streak snap last weekend, falling to Hofstra University 2-1 on the road on Oct. 15.
This was the first loss for the Huskies since Sept. 23 bringing their record to 10-6-1 overall, and 5-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
NU was hurt by two first-half Hofstra goals and they never managed to overcome that deficit.
“We were a little off to start the game,” head coach Ashley Phillips said. “We didn’t seem to get into a good rhythm. It’s always tough to go down [by] two goals.”
The Huskies fired 21 shots in the game, with nine on goal, but only managed to find the back of the net once. The lone tally came off the boot of Carly Wilhelm. The junior forward entered the game as a sub at the 35-minute mark and scored her fourth goal of the season just five minutes later.
Junior forward Kayla Cappuzzo led both teams with five shots on net, while Hofstra only managed four shots on goal as a team. Nevertheless, the Pride managed to beat sophomore goalkeeper Nathalie Nidetch twice in a mediocre game for the goalie. The .500 save percentage was her lowest in a game since Sept. 2 against La Salle University.
Entering the game, NU had sole possession of first place in the CAA, while Hofstra was in last.
“Obviously Hofstra is a good team, despite what their record may say,” Phillips said. “Our message was to not underestimate them but unfortunately we might have let them get to us a little bit.”
With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Huskies are now tied for first with James Madison University (JMU) atop the CAA.
Next weekend, when NU wraps up conference play, it will still have a chance to control its destiny and end the season as the top seed in the CAA. The team will square off with Towson University on Friday, Oct. 21 at Parsons Field before hosting JMU on Sunday, Oct. 23 for Senior Day. The winner of Sunday’s game will enter the CAA tournament as the No. 1 seed.
“It’s easy to motivate the team that we want to stay at the top of the conference,” Phillips said. “I think we have the same motto we’ve had all season, which is to focus on ourselves.”
The Huskies are already guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament, but Phillips acknowledged that they have a lot on the line this weekend in terms of seeding.
“We’d love to be at the top, but I think wherever we find ourselves they’re going to compete and battle,” she said. “They know that they can put themselves in a really great position, but if they don’t their mindset it still to win.”
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics.
