Box Score Freshman Daniel Ivec's fifth goal of the season proved to be the game-winner, as the Huskies held off America East foe Maine on Wednesday at Parsons Field.
The Maine offense pressured early on, but the Northeastern backfield made its presence known, keeping the Black Bears from getting any quality shots off. A foul just outside the top of the box 15 minutes into the half gave Maine its first good opportunity of the afternoon, but shot went wide and hit the side of the net, keeping the game scoreless.
The Huskies finally got the break they were looking for with a little over nine minutes remaining in the first. A foul by the Black Bears on the left outside of the box allowed senior co-captain Atha Kirkopoulos to give NU its first good scoring opportunity of the game. On the kick, a foul from a Maine defender inside the box gave Northeastern a penalty kick, which Kirkopoulos converted to give the home team a one-goal advantage at the break.
Northeastern controlled the ball early in the second, forcing the Black Bear defense to step up and keep the game within range. Ten minutes into the period though, senior midfielder Peter Mosconi just missed a chance to make it a two-goal game for the, sending a blast from 30 yards out that Maine goalkeeper Chad Mongeon made a great leaping save on.
The Black Bears finally got on the board with 26:41 remaining in regulation. With the ball just outside of the NU box, Maine's Gabriel Germano stole the ball and made three quick moves before wrapping a shot around the dive of goalkeeper Sergio Saccoccio, knotting the game at 1-1.
It didn't take long for the Huskies to answer. Off the ensuing kick-off, Northeastern moved down the field and Kirkopoulos put a low blast into a group of players in front of the net. Junior Michael Cipriano came up with the ball, feeding it to Ivec, who finished the play with the go-ahead goal 40 seconds after Maine tied it up.
Junior Aaron Birnbaum added an insurance goal in the 78th minute after a nice pass from Kirkopoulos, who broke away downfield to set up the goal and give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.
Northeastern improved to 6-5-3 overall and 3-2-1 in America East play, while Maine drops to 5-7-1 overall and 1-3-0 in the conference. Shots were fairly low on the day, with NU holding the slight 8-7 advantage. Saccoccio posted one save in the win, while Mongeon recorded three for the Black Bears.
The Huskies return to the field next Wednesday, when they host conference rival New Hampshire at 3 p.m.
Maine Northeastern
Pos # Player Sh G A Pos # Player Sh G A
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D 2 CHENAULT, Adam...... - - - D 2 Oumar Thiam......... - - -
M 9 BAJEK, Greg......... 1 - - D 3 Peter Mosconi....... 2 - -
M 10 BERNAL, Matthew..... - - - M 4 Jeff Gannon......... - - -
M 11 FLOREZ, Daniel...... 1 - - D 5 Joe Parrish......... 1 - -
F 12 STOCKFORD, Justin... - - - F 9 Michael Cipriano.... - - 1
D 15 LEMONT, Eric........ - - - M 10 Atha Kirkopoulos.... 3 1 1
D 18 WILCOX, Ben......... - - - F 11 Daniel Ivec......... 1 1 -
M 19 FRIEND, Cooper...... 1 - - D 13 Jay Hanson.......... - - -
M 20 RIVARD, Luke........ 1 - - K 17 Sergio Saccoccio.... - - -
D 22 YOUNG, Matt......... - - - F 18 Dave Downing........ - - -
K 26 MONGEON, Chad....... - - - M 19 Jay Betley.......... - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
4 GERMANO, Gabriel.... 1 1 - 8 Aaron Birnbaum...... 1 1 -
6 FORGETT, Kevin...... 2 - - 15 Matt Chalom......... - - -
14 VOSMUS, Kyle........ - - - 21 Andrew Babicz....... - - -
16 PETERSEN, Eric...... - - - 22 Brian Koslosky...... - - -
17 JACOBE, Jason....... - - - Totals.............. 8 3 2
Totals.............. 7 1 0
Maine Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
26 MONGEON, Chad....... 90:00 3 3 17 Sergio Saccoccio.... 90:00 1 1
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Maine............... 3 4 - 7 Maine............... 1 2 - 3
Northeastern........ 4 4 - 8 Northeastern........ 0 1 - 1
Corner kicks 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Maine............... 0 1 - 1 Maine............... 9 2 - 11
Northeastern........ 0 2 - 2 Northeastern........ 7 3 - 10
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. 35:47 NU Atha Kirkopoulos Penalty kick
2. 63:19 MAINE GERMANO, Gabriel Unassisted
3. 63:59 NU Daniel Ivec (5) Michael Cipriano
4. 78:36 NU Aaron Birnbaum Atha Kirkopoulos
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
Officials:
Offsides: Maine 2, Northeastern 4.
