Northeastern women’s soccer (0-7-4, 0-2-1 CAA) went home with a narrow 2-1 loss against the Monmouth Hawks (6-1-4, 2-0-1 CAA) Sept. 29th in their third conference game of the season.
The Huskies came out with energy from kickoff, connecting well in the midfield and possessing in Monmouth’s half. In the third minute, Monmouth had the first shot of the game off a dangerous cross from junior forward Summer Reimet into the box for sophomore midfielder Emily De Almeida, but it was saved off the boot of graduate student goalkeeper Sophie Theresia Augustin, who slid on the goaline to deflect.
Northeastern amped up their momentum following this early chance, dominating possession in its attacking third for the next few minutes. The Huskies sent multiple lofted balls into the box, but consistently found the hands of Monmouth’s senior goalkeeper Cassie Coster.
In the eighth minute, Monmouth found its way back into Northeastern’s defensive third. The ball was taken down the sideline by Reimet and sailed into the box once again for De Almeida, who managed to find the net this time and put the Hawks up 1-0 early into the half.
In the following minutes, Monmouth had a few more threatening crosses into the box, but all were well-defended by the Huskies. Eager to tie it up, Northeastern made its way back across the field for a cross from fifth-year midfielder and captain Jessie Hunt, who found senior forward Avery LeVangie in the box. With an incredible opening touch, LeVangie turned towards goal and placed the ball into the right corner to even the score, 1-1, in the 13th minute.
Play continued to move back and forth across the field, with long balls out of the defense from both sides. Graduate student defender Faith Rosenblatt commanded the Huskies’ defensive line with skillful touches under pressure and well-placed balls forward through the midfield.
In the 21st minute, LeVangie sent a through ball slicing past three defenders to graduate student midfielder Bri Jablonowski for a dangerous look on goal, but it was blocked by Coster. Two minutes later, Hunt took a free kick into the box looking for a header, which was swatted away once again with a leaping punch from Coster. Northeastern continued to dominate possession and build in their attacking third, but couldn’t quite find the back of the net.
In the 28th minute, the ball bounced in front of Northeastern’s box and was won out of the air by Reimet, who assisted Monmouth’s first goal. She got the first touch and sent a volley right past Augustin to gain the lead for Monmouth, 2-1.
The Hawks upped their energy after their second goal, and play continued to transition rapidly from box to box. Despite majority possession for the Huskies, they were trailing on the scoreboard. In the 31st minute, a shot from Monmouth sophomore midfielder Chloe Messer was saved by Augustin, and a dangerous counterattack off an intercepted throw-in found sophomore forward Lindsey Husic for another chance on goal, but it was skillfully cleared out by the Huskies.
In the 38th minute, Rosenblatt fired a free kick towards the goal, but Coster came off her line to intercept. The Huskies kept their attack going, and in the 43rd minute, they earned a corner. Hunt crossed the ball into junior midfielder Lauren Dupont for a shot, but it was deflected for another corner. Taken again by Hunt to the feet of Dupont, the ball went out for a goal kick, and with that, the half concluded, 2-1 Monmouth.
As the second half began, the Huskies relentlessly looked to tie the game up after missing key goal-scoring opportunities throughout the first 45 minutes. In the 46th minute, LeVangie took a corner for Northeastern — cleared by the Hawk’s defense. In the 53rd minute, the Huskies generated a beautiful one-touch passing sequence deep on the right sideline, hoping to get a look on goal, but it was turned over before they could get a cross off. Another corner by Levangie in the 55th minute was cleared again by Monmouth, and five minutes later, a poor tackle led to a free kick just outside the box for Northeastern. Hunt played it short to freshman forward Lughano Nyondo, who took a shot on net, only to find the hands of Coster.
Both teams were picking up the aggression — Monmouth looking to hold their lead, and Northeastern eager to even up the board. In the 65th minute, Hunt drove a ball low and hard towards the goal off a free kick, but it was scooped up by Coster. Three minutes later, a promising shot from LeVangie sailed just over the crossbar for a goal kick.
The ball continued to bounce around in Monmouth’s danger zone, and Northeastern got a few shots in quick succession as the ball ricocheted, but it was ultimately deflected out. The Huskies kept up the pressure on the Hawks throughout the half, but were not able to convert.
In the 78th minute, a shot from sophomore forward Loren Gehret just skimmed the crossbar, almost earning a third for the Hawks. In the 82nd minute, Northeastern responded with a ball out of the midfield from Rosenblatt to LeVangie, who shot it wide. As the final whistle was closing in, Monmouth settled into a more defensive shape and strategy, looking to run down the clock and safeguard their lead. In the 86th minute, sophomore midfielder Liza Suydam took a corner for the Hawks, which was headed wide for a goal kick— the final scoring opportunity of the game. After a couple more minutes of back-and-forth play, the game ended 2-1 Monmouth.
The Huskies will head down south to take on the Charleston Cougars (7-3-2, 0-2-1 CAA) Oct. 3.
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