The Northeastern Huskies (7-3-4, 5-1-3 CAA) and Charleston Cougars (2-8-4, 2-4-3 CAA) proved their mental and physical toughness at the mental health awareness game Thursday night. Graduate goalkeeper Holland Stam, named CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week, had a four-save shutout against the Cougars. Combined with senior midfielder Jessie Hunt’s outstanding performance, deemed the CAA Offensive Player of the Week, the Huskies defeated the Cougars 2-0.

Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held in honor of Morgan Rodgers, a Duke University lacrosse player who took her own life in 2019. The match was sponsored by Morgan’s Message, an ambassador program created by Rodgers family to raise awareness after her death. The match focused on equal treatment of mental and physical health in athletics.

The game was fast-paced out of the gate as both teams fought for possession of the ball. The Cougars took control over Northeastern’s defense in the first few minutes, finding passing opportunities around the Huskies’ positioning.

Ten minutes in, possession shifted as the Huskies earned the first corner kick of the night. Hunt fired the ball toward the back post near teammate and junior defender Katherine Marchesseault. Marchesseault tracked the ball down and sent a shot at the goal, which Cougars junior goalkeeper Savannah Barron cleanly saved.

The game continued aggressively in the midfield, with neither team having threatening chances on goal. As the half progressed, the Huskies defense picked up energy, keeping the Cougars to the sidelines with limited offensive movement.

With two more blocked corner kicks from Hunt in the 15th and 17th minutes, the Cougars smothered the Huskies’ attempts to get on the scoreboard.

The absence of CAA Preseason Player of the Year and sophomore forward Vivian Akyirem, who sat out the whole game due to injury, forced the Huskies to look for other opportunities on goal. In the 20th minute, junior forward Megan Putvinski had a chance to score. Putvinski shook a defender as she openly drove the ball toward the goal, sending a kick just left of the goal post.

The crowd anxiously watched the game’s physicality, both teams suffering hits. In the 25th minute, Cougars junior defender Shae Yocum aggressively pursued a loose ball, taking fifth-year midfielder Alexis Legowski to the ground. This was Legowski’s third blow of the game and Yocum’s third yellow card of the season.

With 10 minutes left in the half, Northeastern found another chance to score with two more corner kicks from Hunt, but they were cleared by the Cougars, keeping the game tied at zero.

Northeastern’s defenders left the Cougars little room to make offensive advances in the first half, leading 13-4 in shots and 5-0 in corner kicks. Despite the statistics favoring the Huskies, they struggled to distance themselves from the Cougars on the scoreboard. Charleston stood tall in the box, and Barron positioned herself well, ending the first half 0-0.

Both teams entered the second half equally determined as before. The Cougars secured their first corner kick of the game in the 50th minute. Cougars junior forward Delaney Dawes fired the ball into the box, but the Huskies successfully blocked the volley.

In the 52nd minute, Legowski broke away from two Cougar defenders to send a pass to Hunt, who drove the ball past Barron into the back of the net. With her fifth goal of the season, Hunt broke the scoreless draw, putting the Huskies up 1-0.

Six minutes later, the Huskies advanced their offensive control further, connecting a string of passes in the Cougars’ third of the field. Sophomore forward Maggie Cochran saved the loose ball from heading out of bounds and sent a slide pass to freshman defender Maddie Aughe. Making the attachment, Aughe fired the ball into the air toward sophomore forward Lauren Ahles, who kicked it into the bottom left of the goal before it even hit the ground, doubling the Huskies’ lead.

A battle waged on for the final 30 minutes: The Huskies carried offensively, but they were continually shut down by the Cougar’s defense. Northeastern earned three more corner kicks, and Cochran made multiple threatening shots on goal, all of which were blocked by Barron. Barron had a great finish of 10 saves during the match, tying her career high.

The Huskies’ offense outperformed the Cougars 2-0, advancing their season record to 7-3-4, 5-1-3 CAA — a crucial victory after a 0-1 finish to Hofstra (9-3-1, 6-1-1 CAA) Oct. 1. Since the game, the Huskies were successful on the road against Monmouth (6-4-2, 5-1-2 CAA) Oct. 8, earning a 1-0 finish. The team now prepares for a matchup Oct. 15 at Parsons Field against Towson (11-1-2, 7-0-2 CAA), the conference’s highest ranked team.