The Northeastern men’s soccer team (2-4-2, 1-2 CAA) forced the Harvard University Crimson (3-1-2, 0-0 Ivy) to a 0-0 tie Sept. 23.
“The guys worked extremely hard to get our first clean sheet of the season, so I’m not going to argue with that,” head coach Jeremy Bonomo said.
In the 28th minute of the first half, the Crimson claimed the first good chance of the game. Junior forward Andreas Savva fired a shot from the right hand corner of the box that was saved by graduate student goalkeeper Tobias Jahn and trickled dangerously along the goal line. Multiple Husky defenders gathered on the line, ultimately keeping the ball out.
Through the duration of the first half, the Huskies failed to generate any quality scoring chances. Defenders and midfielders struggled to string passes together and advance the ball up the field. Forwards made many positioning mistakes, resulting in five offsides calls in just 25 minutes.
Northeastern managed just two shots at the end of the first half, requiring lockdown defense and forcing saves from Jahn.
“We have to be better offensively,” Bonomo said. “It puts a strain on the defense and raises everybody’s anxiety.”
The second half started off the same as the first, with Harvard continuing to dominate offensively. Northeastern players continued to commit fouls, squashing momentum and putting more pressure on the back line.
The Crimson got their best chance of the match in the 53rd minute when sophomore midfielder Shane Lonergan’s shot narrowly missed the bottom right corner of the goal.
Sophomore midfielder Richard Conces nearly broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute when his shot from outside the box struck the top of the crossbar.
Northeastern’s defense was stellar in the second half, intercepting passes and blocking shots to provide relief for Jahn. Junior defender Jaden Prado blocked three shots before drawing a foul in his own box to eliminate danger late in the contest.
“I really felt the desperation today to keep the ball out of the net,” Jahn said. “To me, it was just a matter of time until we got that first clean sheet.”
The Huskies held on, and the game resulted in a 0-0 draw at the end of the 90 minutes.
Northeastern will return home after a four-game road trip to play Stony Brook University Seawolves (3-3-3, 0-2-1 CAA) Sept. 27.
“Playing at home, there’s nothing like it,” Jahn said. “We are a team that takes pride in defending our own field. Having a conference game too, a huge game, so we will definitely be ready to defend our own field.”
