The Northeastern men’s soccer team can’t seem to outrun the should-of, could-of, would-ofs that have been chasing them since they were ranked 16th in the nation after their first week of play.
The Huskies were unable to add to their conference win column last week after losing to Hartford 1-0 on Thursday, in Connecticut, and tying visiting team University of Maryland Baltimore County, Sunday afternoon at Parsons field.
The Huskies (3-4-2, 1-1-1 AE) lost their 2-1 second half lead against the newest addition to the America East when UMBC’s Derek McElligott slipped a goal past NU goalie Sergio Saccoccio in the 86th minute stealing an all important conference win from the defending AE champions.
“We gave up a goal late that they didn’t have to work very hard for,” said Husky head coach Ed Matz.
McElligott’s second goal of the game came with just four minutes remaining in regulation and prevented the Retriever’s from losing their first game as a member of the America East.
“It was another game that we definitely could have won,” said NU sophomore Jeff Gannon, who picked up his third point of the season with an assist on Sunday.
Michael Cipriano put NU up in the first half with his second goal of the season tying him with Jay Betley for the team lead in points with six. McElligott headed in his first goal of the game in the 62nd minute to tie the game at 1-1, but he Huskies would regain the lead 13 minutes later when senior co-captain Atha Kirkopoulos wrapped a free kick around UMBC keeper Andy March that bounced in off the post giving Northeastern the 2-1 edge.
After the game-tying goal in the 86th minute, both teams failed to punch in a goal during OT and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. So, UMBC (4-1-3, 0-0-1 AE) start off their America East schedule with a thrilling come-from-behind tie, and the Huskies were left with another disappointment.
“We seem to hit the post a lot,” Matz said. “We’re just not getting the same breaks we got last year.”
That was evident in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to conference rival, Hartford. The Huskies, who haven’t won a game in Hartford since 1993, out-shot the Hawks 15-13, but were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances as HU keeper Ryan Carr made five saves to record the shut out. Saccoccio made three saves in the losing effort.
Although Hartford was given five yellow cards in the tightly contested game, Matz would have liked to see a few red cards handed out.
“It was a pretty physical game,” said Matz. “The referee could’ve definitely given out some red cards.”
The Hawk’s Eitan Arbel scored the game-winning goal on a pass from Alon Lubezky off a free kick from 18 yards out handing the Dogs their first conference loss of the season.
“It’s a tough place to win,” Matz said. “Soccer is their main sport and they get a lot of fan support.”
Although they have a losing record for the season, the Huskies are still at .500 in conference play.
Game notes: Atha Kirkopoulos’ goal was his second of the season, and they came from a corner kick and a free kick. In order for the Dogs to turn things around this season, they are going to need last year’s leading scorer to pick up the pace and get more live game goals. The Huskies don’t play another conference game until Sunday when they host Stony Brook at 3:30 p.m. at Parsons Field, but they are back in action for a non-conference game against West Virginia on Friday at 8 p.m. at Parsons Field.
