Despite a late surge led by forward Timothy Ennin, the Huskies were unable to overcome a three-goal deficit Saturday night at Elon, falling 3-1 to the Phoenix and extending their winless streak to six games.

Unlike earlier in the week against Bucknell – where the Huskies started fast and sputtered down the stretch – Northeastern (5-6-3, 2-2-2 CAA) came out of the gate flat-footed against Elon (6-7-1, 1-5-0 CAA). 

The game began in a stalemate, but the Phoenix quickly asserted themselves at the five minute mark with a near miss off the left post, foreshadowing what was to come. Keeping the ball in NU’s defensive third, Elon defender Lewis Green met a cross from Kasper Lehm, and his header slipped past Huskies’ junior keeper Noah Abrams. 

Though one of the Huskies’ only shots of the half came a moment later – a ball fired over the crossbar by freshman forward Liam Murphy – they were largely held in check by the Elon defense throughout the half. 

Brilliant play from Abrams, Grant Elgin, and  the NU defense kept the deficit to one, but the Huskies only mustered two shots in the entire first half, tying their lowest total in a half this season. 

As the second half began, things began to look up, as an energized Husky offense was able to fire off four shots in the opening 13 minutes, including a near-miss header from defender Jack Monte off a corner kick from Jacob Marin-Thomson. 

The teams traded blows until the 59th minute, when Elon’s Mattias Cooper broke through the NU back line and scored his first goal of the season, putting the Phoenix up 2-0.

Despite continued offensive pressure from the Huskies led by freshman Bernardo Gracindo and Ennin, a penalty kick awarded to Elon’s Nick Adamczyk in the 71st minute of play put Elon up 3-0 and gave Adamczyk his first goal of the season.

Though they were down by three, there was no quit in the Huskies’ attack. Minutes after the PK goal, a cross off the foot of Gracindo found Ennin open at the far post, and the forward put it away to draw the Huskies within two. It was too little too late however, as the game ended 3-1. 

The late goal helped what was a tough day on offense for the Huskies, as it was one of only three shots on target for the struggling squad. However, the attack improved mightily throughout the game, and the late attacking fervor will certainly encourage NU head coach Chris Gbandi. 

The Huskies will have a week to sort out their inconsistencies on both sides of the ball, when the team returns home next Saturday to celebrate senior day against conference rival William and Mary (4-7-2, 2-2-1 CAA).