BROOKLINE, MA - Northeastern avenged last year's semifinal loss by defeating the fifth seeded Hofstra Pride 5-0 Wednesday afternoon at Parsons Field in the first round of the America East Championship. Trond Olsen scored the game-winner for the Huskies while Phonethip Ketnouvong and Petter Starnas each added a goal and an assist in the victory. NU set an America East Championship record for goals, breaking the previous mark of four shared by three teams.
NU got on the board early in the match and never looked back. Senior midfielder Trond Olsen put the Huskies on the board first, scoring what would prove to be the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of play. Ketnouvong added a second goal for NU in the 24th minute, taking a pass from Starnas in the center of the box and driving the ball into the back of the net after sidestepping a couple of Hofstra defenders. The Huskies outshot the Pride 12-3 in the first half.
In the second half, Northeastern picked up right where they left off and continued to dominate the visiting Pride. Starnas scored NU's third goal in the 65th minute on a penalty kick after being taken down hard inside the box. The scoring continued in the 84th minute as redhsirt freshman Joe Parrish scored his first career goal off a pass from Ketnouvong. Ben Collins rounded out the scoring for NU in the 88th minute when Antha Kirkopoulos sent a corner kick into the box. Redshirt freshman forward Michael Cipriano tipped the ball to Collins who then drove the ball past Pride goalkeeper Daniel Greening. Cipriano earned his first career assist on the goal.
NU outshot the fifth seeded Pride 25-6 in the match. Justin Varrone recorded five saves in 80 minutes in net for Hofstra, while reserve keeper Daniel Greening had two saves in the final 20 minutes of play. Allan Lewis came up with two saves for NU. With the win, the fourth seeded Huskies move on to the semifinals where they will face number one seed Boston University.
SCORING
First Half:
NU - Trond Olsen (unassisted), 16:13
NU - Phonethip Ketnouvong (Petter Starnas), 23:49
Second Half:
NU - Petter Starnas (unassisted), 64:57
NU - Joe Parrish (Phonethip Ketnouvong), 83:26
NU - Ben Collins (Antha Kirkopoulos, Michael Cipriano), 87:38
SHOTS
Hofstra, 6
Northeastern, 25
CORNER KICKS
Hofstra, 10
Northeastern, 8
OFFSIDE
Hofstra, 4
Northeastern, 5
FOULS
Hofstra, 22
Northeastern, 11
SAVES
Hofstra, Justin Varrone - 5; Daniel Greening - 2
Northeastern, Allan Lewis - 2
