Northeastern women’s soccer (1-4-3, 0-1 CAA) fell 1-0 in its first CAA game against the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks (5-3-1, 1-0 CAA) Sept. 18. The game was fast-paced and evenly matched, but the Huskies ultimately lost on an unfortunate penalty kick goal. 

As the first half began, the Seahawks put immediate pressure on Northeastern. They possessed skillfully in the Huskies’ defensive third and put high pressure on their back line. Senior forward Ayanna Parker took the first shot of the game for the Seahawks in the second minute, which was easily scooped up by junior goalkeeper and captain Eliza Teplow. 

UNCW continued to threaten Northeastern’s defense, earning a corner in the fourth minute, which was headed wide of the net. A minute later, Northeastern managed to bring the ball into its attacking third and won a free kick off of a foul by Parker. They did not convert on the kick but continued to possess in the Seahawks’ half.

The ball moved quickly across the field for the following 10 minutes, with long balls forward and defensive clearances flying from both sides. In the ninth minute, senior midfielder Maggie Cochran sent Northeastern’s first shot of the game, which found the gloves of redshirt junior goalkeeper Morgan Hobbs and went out for a corner.

The Seahawks defended the corner well and responded with two consecutive corners of their own in the 12th minute. While both sailed toward the near post, Teplow managed to grab the ball off of a deflection on the second. 

Fifteen minutes into the half, the Huskies started to find their groove and possessed well in their attacking third. Sophomore forwards Claire Murray and Lughano Nyondo had multiple rapid, one-touch passing sequences on the left sideline that generated promising opportunities for the Huskies.

In the 24th minute, freshman midfielder Olivia Penn dribbled around UNCW’s defense and almost had a great look on goal but was dispossessed by a sliding tackle from the Seahawks. A minute later, senior midfielder Lauren Dupont took a low driven shot from outside the box that nearly found the left corner of the net but rolled just wide of the post.

UNCW countered almost immediately with a shot from sophomore midfielder Allie Planeaux, which sliced toward the bottom left of the net and was saved by Teplow.

After a few minutes of UNCW-dominated play, the Huskies began to take more control. Moving toward halftime, Northeastern pushed forward into UNCW’s back line to create scoring opportunities. 

In the 33rd minute, freshman midfielder Hayden Sumner took a free kick for the Huskies near midfield, sending the ball toward the top of the box. UNCW deflected the ball out on the right sideline. Northeastern kept it in the Seahawks’ half down the wing, switching fields quickly to find space on the opposite side. Nyondo connected with junior midfielder Juliana Garcia looking to create down the line, but the ball was ultimately cleared out.

With eight minutes remaining in the half, Penn sent a ball through the defensive line on a counterattack to Nyondo, who had a speedy breakaway and went one-on-one with Hobbs, but shot it into her hands. 

With less than two minutes left in the half, a foul in the box on Dupont granted the Seahawks a penalty shot. Sophomore midfielder Ava Vaughan took the kick, placing the ball low into the right corner to put UNCW up 1-0 heading into halftime.

After going down at the end of the half, Northeastern was eager to equalize in the last 45 minutes. The Huskies pushed players forward from the whistle, but the Seahawks came out strong defensively as well.

In the 46th minute, Parker dribbled around three Northeastern defenders to find graduate student forward Kayla Adams deep in the box, who took a shot on goal that was saved by Teplow. The Seahawks sent two more shots in as the ball deflected, but both were blocked by the Huskies’ defense.

UNCW kept the ball in Northeastern’s half for the next few minutes, finding gaps down the sidelines but struggling to move the ball centrally. The Huskies were able to defend and prevent the Seahawks from taking shots but had difficulty moving forward into their attacking half. 

In the 54th minute, Murray took a free kick into the box for Northeastern, which launched over the shuffle of players and went out for a corner. Nyondo sent the corner to junior midfielder and defender Maddie Aughe at the far side of the box, who hit it back toward the net where it found the hands of Hobbs. 

Six minutes later, Adams fired a shot toward the bottom left corner of the net, which was hit away by Teplow to grant UNCW a corner. Vaughan sent the corner to the feet of sophomore defender Alyssa Chuderewicz, who hit it low in the center to find Teplow’s hands once again.

In the 65th minute, a ball from Nyondo flew toward the back post in a promising opportunity for Northeastern but was cleared by the Seahawks. With the end of the game in sight, the Huskies got increasingly frantic as they continued their search for a game-tying goal.

Possession changed quickly throughout the following minutes as Northeastern fought for an equalizer and the Seahawks defended their lead. The ball was consistently in the air with 50-50 balls, clearances and long passes forward from both sides.

Nevertheless, with 12 minutes to go, the Huskies settled in and organized, and Cochran sent a splitting ball through the defense to graduate student forward Bridget Gleason in the box. Gleason went up one-on-one against Hobbs, taking a touch around her for a seemingly open goal, but was dispossessed at the last second by Chuderewicz sprinting in for a clearance.

In the 79th minute, Cochran charged down the right side of the box and tapped the ball back to Nyondo, who drilled a shot toward goal that hit the crossbar. With almost the entire Northeastern side pushed up into the attack, the deflection bounced around near the box but was eventually cleared by the Seahawks. The Huskies continued to push players forward in a high press to try for a last-minute goal.

Two minutes later, a corner from senior midfielder Reese Bodas flew toward the near post, and Teplow punched it out. The punch bounced back toward Bodas, but Teplow ran out to the edge of the box to snag the ball first.

In the 82nd minute, Murray sent a ball across the field to Gleason, who took on sophomore defender Ava Chuderewicz and got fouled. Ava Chuderewicz received a yellow card for the tackle. Nyondo lined up for the resulting free kick for the Huskies, but it was delayed while the Northeastern bench received a yellow card for unsporting behavior. 

Nyondo sent the kick into the box, but it was headed out by the Seahawks. Dupont sent it back in off of the rebound, but it was cleared away for a corner. Nyondo sent the corner toward the far post, but Hobbs jumped up to grab it out of the air.

The high pressure from the Huskies kept the ball primarily in UNCW’s half in the final minutes. However, the Seahawks found a breakaway down the left sideline in the 85th minute. Planeaux dribbled down the line and caught freshman defender Ava Gialanella on her heels, which resulted in a foul from Gialanella to prevent an opportunity on goal. Gialanella received a yellow card for the tackle. Vaughan took the free kick, which sailed smoothly into the hands of Teplow.

In the final five minutes, the Seahawks kept the ball in the Huskies’ defensive third and possessed strategically to run down the clock. They played conservatively on the sidelines, moving the ball toward the corner and taking their time on throw-ins and set pieces. 

In the final minute, the Huskies had one last opportunity off a long shot from Aughe, which Hobbs dove to intercept. Hobbs punted the ball back into Northeastern’s half, and the clock timed out to end the game in a 1-0 win for UNCW.

The Huskies will take on the College of Charleston Cougars (5-3-1, 1-0 CAA) for their second conference game of the season at Parsons Field Sept. 21.