Box Score The defending America East champion and No. 5 seeded NU men's soccer team entered this year's conference playoffs as an underdog, but will live to play another game as the Huskies knocked off No. 4 Boston University on its home turf, 3-0, Wednesday on a cool and rainy night at Nickerson Field.
The Northeastern attack came out aggressive to start the first half, pressuring the BU defense early in the game. At the 11:54 mark, junior Michael Cipriano was taken down in the box by a Terrier defender, giving the Huskies a penalty kick. Senior co-captain Atha Kirkopoulos took the kick and converted to pick up his sixth goal of the year and give Northeastern a 1-0 lead.
Later in the half, it was the NU defense that took over to help preserve the lead. In the 28th minute, junior co-captain Joe Parrish came up with the defensive play of the game to that point. Northeastern goalkeeper Sergio Saccoccio was on the opposite side of the net after an initial shot was block by a Husky defender. Parrish then made a key save on the following shot, thwarting an excellent chance for the Terriers to knot the game with the right side of the net wide open.
The Huskies again controlled the ball in the final 10 minutes of the period, forcing BU goalkeeper Chad Comroe to make a few big saves to keep the game within striking distance. Northeastern would finally get the best of him though with just 2:10 remaining in the first. Comroe came up with a diving stop on a ball sent in from Cipriano, which deflected to the foot of sophomore Jay Betley, who ripped a shot to the back of the net for a 2-0 lead going into the break. Betley's goal, his third of the season, came less than three minutes after entering into the game.
Six minutes into the second half, the Terriers got their second great chance of the game to put their first goal on the board. Junior midfielder Frederico Bianchi went down low to make a diving header, but Saccoccio got a hand on the ball to just barely keep it from crossing the line.
Northeastern would put the game out of reach in the 59th minute with its third goal of the game. Cipriano made a run up the right side of the field and put a low shot from outside the box to the opposite side of the net, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
The Terriers remained aggressive, creating a few good scoring opportunities through the end of regulation. Saccoccio made a number of key saves though, while the Husky defense remained strong down the stretch, keeping a comfortable lead for Northeastern.
NU was outshot by BU, 16-10, in the game. Saccoccio posted seven saves en route to his ninth win and seventh shutout of the season. Comroe recorded five saves in the losing effort.
The Huskies, now 9-7-3 overall, will make their fifth straight semifinal appearance when they travel to regular season conference champion and No. 1 seed UMBC Saturday at 1 p.m. When Northeastern squared off with the America East newcomers on Sept. 28, the two played to a 2-2 tie at Parsons Field.
Northeastern Boston University
Pos # Player Sh G A Pos # Player Sh G A
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
GK 17 Sergio Saccoccio.... - - - GK 1 Chad Comroe......... - - -
B 2 Oumar Thiam......... - - - B 3 Matt Cross.......... - - -
B 3 Peter Mosconi....... - - - B 4 Erik Evjen.......... 1 - -
F 4 Jeff Gannon......... - - - M 5 Jon Martin.......... - - -
B 5 Joe Parrish......... - - - B 7 Zach Kirby.......... - - -
M 6 Tom Heimreid........ - - - M 9 Alan McNamara....... 2 - -
M 8 Aaron Birnbaum...... 1 - - M 10 Andrew Dorman....... 3 - -
F 9 Michael Cipriano.... 1 1 1 M 11 Jamie Johnson....... 3 - -
M 10 Atha Kirkopoulos.... 5 1 - M 15 Federico Bianchi.... 5 - -
M 11 Daniel Ivec......... 2 - - M 19 Sedrick Chin........ 2 - -
M 18 Dave Downing........ 1 - - F 22 Anders Ostli........ - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
13 Jay Hanson.......... - - - 6 Karl Ruegemer....... - - -
19 Jay Betley.......... 1 1 - Totals.............. 16 0 0
22 Brian Koslosky...... - - -
Totals.............. 11 3 1
Northeastern Boston University
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
17 Sergio Saccoccio.... 90:00 0 7 1 Chad Comroe......... 90:00 3 5
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
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Northeastern........ 7 3 - 10 Northeastern........ 2 5 - 7
Boston University... 7 9 - 16 Boston University... 5 0 - 5
Corner kicks 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
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Northeastern........ 2 0 - 2 Northeastern........ 8 7 - 15
Boston University... 2 4 - 6 Boston University... 5 8 - 13
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. 11:54 NU Atha Kirkopoulos Penalty kick
2. 42:50 NU Jay Betley Michael Cipriano
3. 59:11 NU Michael Cipriano Unassisted
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
YC-NU #10 (38:12); YC-BU #11 (38:27); YC-BU #10 (78:03)
Officials: Referee: Ed Shea; Asst. Referee: Mike Mason; Steve Page; Scorer: Rachel Lieber;
Offsides: Northeastern 2, Boston University 1.
