By Max Lederman
Another day, another huge win for the Northeastern men’s soccer team (7-6-2, 4-1-0 America East). Saturday night, in front of a huge crowd packed with students and alumni, the Huskies defeated the Vermont Catamounts (8-5-1, 3-1-1 America East) 4-3 in overtime.
“They came in here ranked number one in the conference, and it was a battle,” said coach Ed Matz after the game.
The Huskies started strong when junior Atha Kirkopoulos scored at just 4:12 into the game. But as the rain began to fall, so did the hopes of the Huskies finally beating Vermont for the first time since 1996. The Catamounts Adam Wallace scored two goals, which, combined with an Ethan Hutchins goal, gave Vermont three unanswered goals, and a 3-1 lead.
But just when it looked like all hope was lost, Northeastern senior LeRoy Watkins booted the ball off a defender past the Vermont keeper, to bring NU within a goal, and thus swinging the momentum in the home team’s favor. Then, off of a penalty kick Atha Kirkopoulos scored once again, to tie the game up and send the Huskies to their 7th overtime of the season.
“Atha Kirkopoulos had a tremendous game for us tonight,” said Coach Matz after the game. “I think he was a big difference.”
With six goals and four assists (totalling 16 points), Atha is accountable for almost 24 percent of the team’s scoring this year.
In overtime both teams looked sharp, but sophomore Michael Cipriano managed to pound one home for the game winner.
“It felt good to beat a team like Vermont,” said Cipriano.
“I give the guys a lot of credit,” said Matz. “We were down 3-1 with time running out and they fought back.”
With the win on Saturday the Huskies claimed first place in the America East conference. “It was all heart.” senior captain Nate Houghton said after the game.
The Huskies also defeated Maine (1-9-2, 0-5-0 America East) 1-0 last Wednesday off of another Michael Cipriano goal.
“Every team we play is tough, and we know that its going to be a war every game,” said Cipriano.
The Huskies look to make it five in a row when they host America East rival Boston University (7-3-3, 2-0-1 America East) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Parsons Field. The Huskies are 4-1-1 at home, and look to build upon on last season’s AE playoff victory at Nickerson Field.
