NEWTON – The women’s soccer team’s remarkable season came to an end yesterday with a 4-0 loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to No. 10 Boston College.
Northeastern (14-9-1, 6-5 Colonial Athletic Association) defeated Harvard in an exciting game that went to penalty kicks during the opening round game Friday night, but was overmatched yesterday by Boston College.
“It’s frustrating. It hasn’t quite hit me,” head coach Ed Matz said after the loss. “I’m sure I’ll be very disappointed tonight when I go home. I’m so proud of what we did this year. I’m certainly disappointed that we lost today, but we played a great BC team. This team could be in the Final Four, and I thought we played them well, especially in the second half.”
Prior to the loss Sunday, Northeastern beat Harvard (10-4-4, 5-1-1 Ivy) 4-2 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in double overtime.
In that game, Northeastern got on the board when junior forward Liza Rebello drove up the right sideline past several Crimson defenders before dishing the ball to freshman defender Kelly Matthews in the middle of the field. Matthews ripped a shot from 15 yards out that found its way past Harvard keeper Lauren Mann at 20:38.
Harvard scored 15 minutes later when midfielder Erin Wylie found forward Christina Hagner with a pass. Hagner lofted a shot through traffic past freshman goalie Stephanie Gordon for her seventh goal of the year.
The game remained tied until 54:48 in the second half when Wylie’s shot ricocheted off sophomore defender Lesley Condie and then back out to Wylie, who drilled it past Gordon. Shortly after Wylie’s goal, Rebello left the game with what turned out to be a pair of broken ribs, Matz said yesterday. She did not play in the BC game.
Gordon kept Northeastern’s deficit at one when she made a slide to her left to deny Crimson midfielder Hana Taiji a goal 15 minutes into the second half. Minutes later, Condie and senior co-captain and defender Emilee Ellison trapped Harvard forward Patricia Yau as she drove up the field, denying her a shot.
The Huskies’ defensive prowess paid off when Matthews lined a free kick that one-hopped the wet turf and went through Mann’s hands. It was her second goal of the game and fourth of the season.
“I’m so proud of my team. Harvard went up 2-1 and we kept our composure, we stepped up our game plan, didn’t start to freelance or do things one on one,” Matz said. “We’ve been down before. [We were] down at James Madison, down at Hofstra. And I just think it gives us lot of confidence and knowledge that we can score at any time.”
As regulation drew to a close, Crimson midfielder Melanie Baskind dribbled toward the goal and took a shot as time expired, but Gordon was on mark to stop it.
Eight seconds into the second overtime, senior forward Jenna Lucchesi went down hard at the center of the field. She was helped off the field and found to have a sprain on the same leg she suffered a compound fracture last season. However, she returned for the penalty kicks.
Northeastern won the coin toss and shot first in penalty kicks. Freshman forward Kirby Anderson buried her shot past Mann. Gordon made a spectacular diving save to her right to deny Harvard defender Nicole Rhodes.
Husky senior defender and co-captain Brenna Matthews appeared to have been denied her shot but Mann was called for jumping too soon. Matthews then stood alone in the middle of the field for close to a minute as the referees explained the call.
“That was probably the longest minute of my life, just give me the ball back. I was pretty sure he was going to call it because she moved really early,” Matthews said. “So I was pretty sure I was going to have to take it again. I don’t know if I’m going to switch sides. It was really mental and probably mental for the goalie, she was probably freaking out. I definitely tried to keep my cool and I’m just really happy that I was able to finish my second one.”
Freshman midfielder Gabbi Jatkola slammed her shot home while Wylie hooked hers wide left. Up stepped Kelly Matthews with a chance to clinch the win for Northeastern. She came through, giving the Huskies the first round win in a game that had loud contributions from both Harvard and Northeastern fans.
“First of all, hats off to the fans, [it was an] incredible atmosphere,” Matz said. “This is the most fans and best atmosphere I’ve seen at a women’s or men’s [soccer] game in 10 years.”
While both groups of fans were vocal, Brenna Matthews credited Husky fans for being respectful.
“It’s awesome how many people came out and supported us,” she said. “What I loved was that they were so respectful and just being positive and cheering for us while Harvard fans were being very negative and taunting. It was great for everybody to take the time out on their Friday night to come down and see us here. It was the best and most fans I’ve ever had in any soccer game.”
Matthews said Northeastern’s comeback exemplified what made this year’s team so special.
“What’s so different about our team this year is that no matter what, we are never out of the game,” she said. “We always find a way to finish. Everybody pushed, everybody worked their butt off, that’s why we are where we are right now, we just never give up in a game. No matter what, there can be two minutes left in the game and we’re down one goal, and we’re still not out of it. That’s why this team is so special and why we’re doing so well.”
Friday’s emotional game and several other factors combined to work against the Huskies yesterday. The Eagles (15-5-2, 7-1-1 ACC) scored three first-half goals en route to a 4-0 win. Northeastern entered the game without its second leading scorer, Rebello, and saw Kelly Matthews and freshman forward and CAA Rookie of the Year Veronica Napoli leave with ankle sprains. Napoli left midway in the first half and returned in the second half, while Matthews went down two minutes later and did not return.
“I think that losing the coin toss and having to go into the wind was disappointing for us, [but] then again you have to adjust,” Matz said. “[We] certainly didn’t want to let BC get on the board early, we know they’re powerful. I thought we were playing well and that ‘bend not break defense’ was working. I think it was a big thing when Kelly Matthews went down, she means so much to us in the middle of the field, she’s a great defender.”
Matz added that he thought it was possible his team had been emotionally drained following the tight battle with Harvard.
“Definitely think the overtime game took a lot out of us, that was such an emotional game,” he said. “I just think a lot of little factors added up to that 3-0 deficit. I also think that our younger players didn’t play quite as well in the first half. So between the wind, the game on the Friday, missing the three starters, and our age, we dug ourselves a hole. But I was proud of the way we came out in the second half.”
Despite the loss, Boston College head coach Alison Kulik said the Huskies should be a strong team again next year.
“We’re familiar with a lot of Northeastern’s freshmen, we took a look at them too,” she said. “They’re competitive, they’re talented [and] it seems like they’ve got a great chemistry going. They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the CAA and certainly in New England.”
As for Matz, he said he hoped this season will stay with his players.
“What I told the girls in the locker room was that I hope that I was able to help them get to a season that they’re never going to forget,” he said. “We had 14 wins this year, up from four last year. We won the CAA championship. Along the way we had an incredible amount of fun. Not too many teams [at Northeastern] have the luxury to say that they won an NCAA first round game, or even got into the NCAAs. So were certainly proud of that and it’s an experience that this team will never forget.”
