By Nathan Vaughan
The men’s soccer team increased its unbeaten streak to six games with a 2-0 win over Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) rival Hofstra yesterday at Parsons Field. The Huskies now stand at 4-2-4 overall (2-0-1 CAA). They stand alone at the top of the CAA standings ahead of Old Dominion by one point.
During their streak, the Huskies have only allowed two goals, which both occurred during their 2-2 tie against Georgia State.
“It’s new and pretty nice that we started up in the front,” said head coach Brian Ainscough. “It’s in our hands that we have to win to get into postseason play, the kids are confident.”
In a game-time decision yesterday, Huskies’ junior midfielder Alexander Volk was forced to sit out due to a groin injury. Volk suffered the injury at the end of the Georgia State game. Freshman midfielder Josh Semerene started in place of Volk.
During the first half, neither team was able to garner offensive rhythm, with a total of 12 shots in the half. Seven came from Hofstra while five came from Northeastern. Each team had only three shots on net.
The second half showed a turning of the tide as Northeastern shifted into offensive gear. Hofstra was allowed only one shot during the half, and it wasn’t on net. The Huskies dominated the Pride with a 5-1 shot ratio, allowing no corner kicks in comparison to the five Hofstra let up.
Northeastern got on board the second half with a goal from freshman forward Mike Kennedy in the 66th minute. Senior forward Lewis Ehrlich and freshman midfielder Ryan Burnham assisted Kennedy. Burnham had fed the ball to Ehrlich in the box who then crossed it to Kennedy for the eventual game-winner. It was Kennedy’s third goal of the season.
Kennedy’s day was not over. In the 89th minute, Semerene added an insurance goal that sunk any chance of a comeback for the Pride (1-7-2). Kennedy led junior captain and midfielder Lars Okland into the box who then dumped the ball off to Semerene who beat the keeper. It was Semerene’s first collegiate goal of his career.
“We have a veteran team. We’ve brought in a lot of new kids,” said Ainscough. “The new guys are gaining a lot of experience from the veterans like Volk and [senior defender Jonathan] Batista is making it easier for the new kids to break in.”
The Huskies will continue CAA play at Parsons Field this Saturday against UNC Wilmington (4-6, 1-1 CAA) at 6 p.m. The Huskies are 2-1 against the Seahawks since joining the CAA in 2005.
“The team itself is really working and the effort is phenomenal especially from people like the seniors Ehrlich and Batista,” said Ainscough. “I’m very happy for Batista getting some success, since he has been here in years that we haven’t had much success. He is playing really well he doesn’t want to come off the field.”
