By Max Lederman
Last Wednesday at Parsons Field, the Northeastern men’s soccer team picked up a huge America East win against the visiting Maine Black Bears, 3-1.
The victory comes on the heels of a potentially devastating 4-2 loss to Boston University on Oct. 11.
“It was a big win for us, because after the BU game we were pretty deflated,” said coach Ed Matz. “Things could have gone wrong against Maine with all of our injuries and a few of our players coming down with the flu, but we pulled through.”
Score sheet regulars Atha Kirkopoulos and Dan Ivec each notched a goal in the win.
Heading into their final three AE games, the Huskies find themselves in third place with a record of 3-2-1.
Maine (5-7-1, 1-3-0 America East) came out strong in the first half but was met by a hard-nosed Husky defense that prevented the Black Bears from getting any quality scoring opportunities early on. With nine minutes remaining in the first half, the Huskies, who had yet to find any offensive production, got the break they needed when a Maine defender was called for a foul in the box to give them a penalty kick.
Kirkopoulos, a senior co-captain, converted the shot, giving NU a 1-0 edge at the break and giving him his fifth goal of the season.
NU just missed taking a two goal lead 10 minutes into the second half when Maine goalie Chad Mongeon made a diving save on a 30-yard shot from NU midfielder Peter Mosconi.
With 26:41 remaining in the game, Maine’s Gabriel Germano stole the ball just out side of the Huskies box and bent a shot past a diving Sergio Saccoccio to knot the game at 1-1.
The Dogs would answer just 40 seconds later off the ensuing kick-off when junior Michael Cipriano got the ball in front of the net and fed Ivec, who put the ball past Germano for the game winner.
“We knew we couldn’t lose,” said sophomore Jeff Gannon. “When they tied the score we knew we had to pick up the intensity, and we did.”
The goal was Ivec’s fifth of the season, tying him with Kirkopoulos for the team lead. In the 78th minute, Kirkopoulos broke away downfield and set up junior Aaron Birnbaum for an insurance goal, giving NU the 3-1 lead.
The game didn’t see much shooting on either side with NU holding the 8-7 advantage. Saccoccio made one save on the way to his sixth win of the season, while Maine’s Germano made three in the losing effort.
“We had some good practices in the week leading up to Wednesday’s game, and I think it really showed in the second half,” Gannon said.
The Huskies return to the field Wednesday, when they host conference rival New Hampshire at 3 p.m. and then are off to Vermont Saturday for their second to last conference game of the regular season.
“The UNH game worries me because it’s a must win for them and we were the ones that knocked them out of the playoffs last year,” Matz said. “I’m also a little worried about Vermont because it’s very hard place to play at and we haven’t won there in five or six years.”
The Huskies final three conference opponents have a combined AE record of 4-9-2.
“All the teams we’re playing are vying for a playoff spot,” Gannon said, “but so are we.”
If the Huskies win out the remainder of their conference games, they have a legitimate shot at winning the conference or at least securing home field for a few games in the America East tournament.
