Going into the half down 2-0, the Huskies needed to put something together to turn the game on its heels. To say they did just that would be an understatement, as the resilient Huskies put four unanswered goals past Charleston Saturday in the second half to take the game by a score of 4-2.
George Barker, deputy sports editor
• September 18, 2019
The Huskies walked out of Linda Johnson Stadium in Worcester Tuesday with their heads held high, after their dominant defensive effort kept the opposing Crusaders from mounting any threat in a 2-0 victory.
Playing in their first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament game since 2014, the Northeastern men’s soccer team (6-9-1, 3-4-1 CAA) fell in a first round 1-0 loss to Hofstra (9-6-4, 5-2-1) in their final game of the season.
Northeastern men’s soccer is back in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament for the first time since 2014, thanks to first-year forward/midfielder Tyler Welch.
The Huskies could not make it back-to-back wins on Saturday, as they lost 2-1 to the College of Charleston Cougars (4-8-2, 1-4-1 CAA) in South Carolina. Despite an early goal from first-year forward/midfielder Ryan Massoud, the Cougars scored two goals within 30 seconds late in the game to complete the comeback and take all three points.
The Huskies’ seniors, midfielder Kevin Carvalho, midfielder Chris Flores, midfielder Gerardo Milano, defender Martin Nygaard, defender Moustapha Samb and forward/midfielder Harry Swartz, were each presented with a framed jersey as they made their way out to midfield. The seniors posed for a picture with the coaching staff and their escorting family members. The commentator read a recap of each of the seniors’ Husky careers and included defining moments for each player.
Both Gbandi and Bennett understand the importance of finishing the season strong, regardless of results from earlier in the year. The Huskies fielded a young team Tuesday night, with many players returning for next year’s campaign.
“We all know it has been a very difficult season,” head coach Chris Gbandi said. “But I think one win can change all that. You get a win in conference and all of a sudden morale is very high. We still have a chance to make it into the conference tournament, and right now that is our goal.”
“One of the things we preach is the fitness piece, and we came in during preseason in decent fitness,” Gbandi said. “I think the guys seem to be fine, we always push the pace during overtime. Usually with overtime games, a lot of times the guys are fading a little bit but we haven’t seen that.”
The Huskies will look to bounce back with two road conference games this week, with matches against Hofstra and Drexel looming. Despite the strong effort from the Huskies in their recent games, they will look for some tangible results.
Looking to carry the momentum from their upset win over the University of Massachusetts Lowell last Saturday night, Northeastern men’s soccer faced a true test of their fitness, with both games of the week needing extra time to decide an outcome.
