Star sophomore midfielder Ryan Massoud made sure Northeastern came away with a point Saturday evening, scoring both goals for the Huskies as they came back from a two goal deficit to earn a draw during their CAA home opener versus Delaware.

For the Huskies (2-2-1), the beginning of the game was filled with whistles, none of which they wanted to hear. With four fouls called against them before seven minutes had even passed, NU did not appear to be getting any home field advantage from the referees in Brookline.

As such, momentum fell squarely with the Blue Hens (1-2-1) for the beginning of the first half, as the visitors had more shots, corner kicks and goals in the opening 30 minutes. 

Delaware’s first goal came before Northeastern had a shot on net, as NU’s only early scoring chance came from junior forward/midfielder Dan Munch, who sent a shot wide at the 13th minute. Delaware sophomore defender Timo Hummrich started off the game’s scoring by nailing a penalty kick just before the 21st minute of the half, his third goal of the season.

Delaware followed Hummrich’s goal with another just seven minutes later. Given a great chance to score with back-to-back corner kicks, the Blue Hens found the back of the net following a miscue by Husky junior goalie Noah Abrams. Abrams’ bobble gave junior forward Rex Twum the opportunity to score his second goal of the season off an assist from freshman defender Alvin Halley, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead with just over 15 minutes to go in the half. 

With the Blue Hens looking poised to take a decisive two goal lead into halftime, Northeastern managed to strike back with just four minutes to spare. Sophomore Timothy Ennin was able to secure the ball outside the attacking circle and the forward earned his first assist of the year by sending a pass through to Massoud, who cashed in on a one-on-one opportunity for his second goal of the year. 

Northeastern came out of halftime with a new goalie. Sophomore Chandler Cree made his second appearance of the year, replacing Abrams in net and playing a perfect 65 minutes for the Huskies.

NU carried the momentum they earned from the late first half goal right into the second, with Massoud tying the game on a header from a cross sent in by Munch. Munch’s play to set up Massoud was his second assist of the young campaign. 

Cree secured a save in the 57th minute off a shot by Delaware midfielder David Vavrous, keeping the game tied at two. 

Northeastern had three corner kicks during the rest of the half, including two back-to-back in the 75th minute, but neither team managed to score, forcing overtime. 

Both teams were held scoreless for another 20 minutes, as the Blue Hen’s sophomore netminder Renan Thomazo kept the game alive with a save off a header just 55 seconds into overtime. 

Despite two corners for NU and one for Delaware during the two overtime periods, neither team managed a shot on net following freshman midfielder Liam Murphy’s early header that was turned away by Thomazo. 

With the draw, Northeastern moves to 2-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 in CAA play on the season. The Huskies will be making the short trip to Worcester for their next game, where they will face the struggling Holy Cross Crusaders (0-4-0) Tuesday at 7 p.m.