Battling not only the opponent but also terrible weather conditions, the Northeastern men's soccer team survived to hand Stony Brook a 2-1 loss in overtime at University Field on Saturday afternoon.
On a field subjected to two straight days of rain and a steady downpour throughout the game, the ball traveled unpredictably and both teams had trouble with their footing. Despite struggling to get into any sort of flow throughout the first half, Stony Brook outshot the Huskies 6-3 but came up empty.
The Seawolves (1-11-1, 0-3 America East) got a golden opportunity with nearly 20 minutes left in the game. After a Stony Brook player was taken down in the penalty area, sophomore Chris Musinski set up for the penalty kick. However, Northeastern's goalkeeper, freshman Sergio Saccoccio, came up with one of his several big saves on the day, diving to slap the ball away and deny a Stony Brook lead.
Ten minutes later, Northeastern (5-6-2, 2-1) took advantage of a 20-yard free kick following a Stony Brook foul. Freshman Tom Heimreid took the kick and scored his first goal of the season to give the Huskies the 1-0 edge.
However, the Seawolves rallied in the final minutes of regulation. With just over four minutes left, the ball bounced around the Northeastern box until it found freshman Payton Webb, whose header slipped past Saccoccio's outstretched arms and into the upper right corner of the net. With a 1-1 score at the end of regulation, the Huskies faced their third overtime match in four games, while Stony Brook hoped to win in extra periods for the first time in four opportunities this year.
A Stony Brook foul again proved to be the Seawolves' demise. In the 94th minute, junior Atha Kirkopoulos set up for a free kick 30 yards away from the goal, and he fired the ball past the defense and Stony Brook goalkeeper Matt Thibdeau for the game-winner. Kirkopoulos has now scored the game-winning goal the past two games, both in overtime.
Saccoccio finished with six saves. Thibdeau, seeing his first action of the season, collected four saves. Northeastern will look to pick up its third straight victory on Wednesday, when they travel to Maine.
Scoring
First Half:
No Scoring
Second Half:
NU - Tom Heimreid 79:10
SBU - Payton Webb (Akil Jordan) 85:55
Overtime:
NU - Atha Kirkopoulos 94:31
Shots
Northeastern, 9
Stony Brook, 13
Corner Kicks
Northeastern, 3
Stony Brook, 0
Fouls
Northeastern, 21
Stony Brook, 14
Offsides
Northeastern, 3
Stony Brook, 8
Saves
Northeastern, Sergio Saccoccio 6
Stony Brook, Matt Thibdeau 4
