Over the past month, the Colonial Athletic Conference’s men’s soccer playoff push has begun to take shape. The Northeastern Huskies (9-4-2, 3-1-1) currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference. 

NU’s Sept. 25 win against Quinnipiac gave them a quick stint in the Top Drawer top 25 national soccer rankings. They came in at 25th for the week of Sept. 27, before falling back out after losses to University of North Carolina Wilmington, or UNCW, and Boston College. Nonetheless, the Delaware Blue Hens gave the Huskies three much needed points to stay in the CAA playoff hunt on Oct. 9.

NU’s Oct. 2 game against UNCW and Oct. 16 match against Elon proved to be more challenging. At the home of the currently fifth ranked Seahawks, the Huskies fell in overtime to a sharp angled shot by  junior midfielder, Omar Aboutaleb. Back at home against Elon, after going up 2-0 early, the Huskies looked flat in the second half, giving up two goals in a six-minute span before playing out the draw. 

Before continuing conference play this Saturday, the Huskies travelled across Commonwealth Avenue to face off against cross-town rivals Boston University. Head coach Chris Gbandi emphasized the point of resting certain key players for this non-conference match-up.

 “[We] made some changes in the back, and I think ultimately those were the changes that cost us the game,” Gbandi said. “A little bit of some guys playing in some different spots, but all in all, I think you give BU a lot of credit to find a way to get the win in the second half.”

Despite strong goalkeeper play from sophomore Colby Hegarty, the Huskies fell 3-1 against the Terriers. 

To complement strong goalkeeper play throughout the season and with consistent offensive production coming from different players, senior forward Ryan Massoud has been a standout. He received his second CAA offensive player of the season award for the week of Oct. 11. 

To round out the season, the Huskies will travel down to Philadelphia this Saturday to face off against the Drexel Dragons in what will prove to be an important match in the CAA standings. Drexel is just three points behind NU and a notably difficult team to play at home. The Huskies will look for offense from Massoud and other senior forwards Benjamin Klingen and Timothy Ennin, who have proved to be bright spots on the Huskies’ front line. 

NU will return home to Parsons Field Nov. 6 to face off against the College of Charleston on Senior Night before leaving Boston again to face off against top ranked James Madison University.