In their first home game since Aug. 29, Northeastern University (NU) women’s soccer overwhelmed Dartmouth College on a rainy Friday night in front of a drenched Husky faithful. Leading the charge in the 3-1 victory were sophomore midfielder Kerri Zerfoss and senior forwards Kayla Cappuzzo and Carly Wilhelm, each finding the back of the net in the Red and Black’s first victory over the Big Green in program history.
The Huskies, who scored first in eight of their first 10 games, struck in the 13th minute. Cappuzzo took a perfectly placed pass from freshman midfielder Mikenna McManus into the box and tapped the ball just beyond the reach of Dartmouth goalkeeper Mariel Gordon into the bottom left corner of the net.
Dartmouth was quick to strike back, however, as an 18th minute free kick equalizer — its only shot on goal of the first half — snuck its way past junior goalkeeper Nathalie Nidetch.
Coming out of the locker room with a 1-1 tie at the half, Nidetch and the Huskies took their game into second gear. In another brilliant overall outing, Nidetch saved all six shots on goal in the second half, giving the high-powered offense the defensive assurance it needed to focus on scoring.
Off of a beautiful corner kick cross from senior forward/midfielder Taylor Caparo, Zerfoss headed the eventual game-winner into the top left corner of the net in the 62nd minute. She also played a role in the final score of the night, gaining the assist on Wilhelm’s header for an insurance goal in the 84th minute.
Zerfoss emphasized the elevated collective mentality of the team as a catalyst for such high levels of play.
“We’re really clicking as a team and trying to work out some kinks that hurt us earlier in the season,” she said. “We realize that this is the last go-around for our seniors, and we want to make this season as memorable for them as we can.”
Other strong individual performances came from freshman forward Chelsea Domond, who came up with three shots on goal, and senior Hannah Lopiccolo, who also assisted on Wilhelm’s late goal.
The final home game prior to conference play, Friday’s match was played with the intention of “returning to [the team’s] roots and really fine-tuning the fundamentals,” head coach Ashley Phillips said.
“We’re just trying to build on our basics and our game plan, and that’s why we schedule these tough out-of-conference games,” Phillips said. “I’m hoping this will start to build confidence going forward so that when we start league play, we’ll be ready to go.”
Zerfoss echoed the sentiments of her coach, noting that the team prioritized a back-to-basics approach for the entirety of the game.
“We’re really just trying to bring the same energy and level of play to every game,” the sophomore said. “I know sometimes we come out and our play isn’t as consistently high as we hope, but we have to remember not to let it get to us and keep our foot on the gas for the full 90 [minutes].”
Unfortunately, the Huskies were unable to keep the momentum rolling, as they struggled to find open looks in a 1-0 loss to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats. Despite outpacing the Wildcats with five more shots on target, the Huskies could not squeak anything past UNH keeper Mia Neas. They eventually lost on a pinball cross into the box that found senior forward Brooke Murphy, who tapped in the game-winner in the 81st minute.
The Huskies, ending non-conference play with a 6-4 record, look to remain among the top teams in a tough mid-major conference with Colonial Athletic Conference play commencing against Drexel on Thursday.
