Box Score The men's soccer team (2-8-1, 0-3-0 CAA) returned to Parsons Field and played some of its most inspiring soccer of the season in a tough 2-1 loss against No. 7 Old Dominion (8-1-0, 3-0-0 CAA) on Friday night. After giving up a pair of early goals to the Monarchs' two leading scorers Zachary Kinney and Edson Elcock, the Huskies fought back, controlling play for much of the game. Finally at 85:24 freshman Alexander Volk scored off of senior Matt Handy's pass to cut ODU's lead in half, but that was as close as the Huskies would get. A valiant effort in the final five minutes fell short as Northeastern dropped its fifth straight and eighth in the last nine games. The Monarchs have now won eight in a row.
The Huskies came out fast on Friday night, earning an early corner kick and the game's first shot, but Old Dominion quickly shifted the momentum. Senior Zachary Kinney took a pass from senior teammate Edson Elcock and beat NU freshman keeper Mahmoud Talaat at 3:58. The Monarchs' goal looked too easy against a lackadaisical NU defense and the Huskies appeared to be in for a long night. In the 12th minute, Elcock made a swift move, curling around NU junior co-captain defender Padraig Tangney with his back to the net. He then went in alone on Talaat but drilled a shot off the left post. Elcock got another chance five minutes later and this time he made no mistake, heading in the cross from senior Jared Kent past a sprawling Talaat at 17:17. Kent showcased his ability to stop and go in a flash, as he beat his defender and sent a quick pass through traffic to Elcock.
Down 2-0 against the top-ranked team in the CAA, the Huskies began to show a sense of desperation. NU started to control the ball for large periods of time in ODU territory. At 35:04, Greg Kilkenny broke in past a few ODU defenders but his hard shot was stopped by freshman Evan Newton. Then threatening to go up 3-0 before halftime, ODU freshman Ambane Emmanuel headed a ball toward the right side of the net but sophomore Nicholas Patrikis was there to make the defensive save for NU in the 37th minute.
The Huskies made a change in goal to begin the second half, replacing Talaat with freshman Joe Monthey, but NU continued to build off their late first half momentum. In the 64th minute amid a scramble in front of the ODU net, junior Ahmed Talaat found the ball and fired a close-range shot but Newton stopped it. Kilkenny then headed the rebound toward the net but Newton again was there to make the save.
With about 25 minutes to play the Huskies continued to battle, really beginning to control the pace of the game and at 85:24, the hard work finally paid off. After senior co-captain Daryl Brack's corner kick was blocked, he retrieved the ball and shot it back toward the net. The Monarchs' proceeding clearing attempt failed and the Huskies kept the ball inside the box. Then in a crowd of players, senior defender Matt Handy dished a short pass to freshman Alexander Volk, who blasted a shot into the upper-right corner past a stunned Newton to pull NU within a goal.
With a minute-and-a-half to play, Elcock nearly sealed the game for ODU as he blew right past his defenders and went in on a breakaway. Lucky for NU and keeper Joe Monthey, his shot went off the wrong part of his foot and went way wide. As time dwindled down under 20 seconds, the Huskies put forth one final effort as Tangney streaked down the left side of the field but his shot from the top corner of the box sailed high.
With the loss, Northeastern dropped to 2-8-1 (0-3-0 CAA) and has now lost five straight and eight of its last nine, but there were plenty of positives for the Huskies. They were able to mount sustained pressure throughout the contest and eventually beat Evan Newton, who is tied for the CAA lead in shutouts with five. NU was also able to score against an ODU team that had given up only six goals in eight games. And Northeastern's defense, although shaky in the early going, looked better down the stretch against ODU's clever and speedy offense. The Monarchs did not have a shot on goal in the second half after recording eight in the first.
Evan Newton made four saves for the Monarchs, including three in the second half. Talaat, who took the loss, made six saves in the opening frame for NU before being replaced by Monthey. He did not see any shots on goal in the second half.
Old Dominion outshot Northeastern 20-9 and eight to five in shots on goal. The Huskies had an eight to four advantage on corner kicks.
Northeastern will try to build on the momentum from Friday's game as they host William & Mary at Parsons Field on Sunday. The Tribe (5-5-0, 1-1-0 CAA) played the Huskies to a scoreless tie last year in the two team's first ever meeting. The game will begin at 1 p.m.
ODU (2-8-1) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Northeastern (8-1-0) -------------------------------
Date: Sept. 29, 06 Attendance: 107 ODU................. 2 0 - 2
Weather: cool Northeastern........ 0 1 - 1
ODU Northeastern
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A Pos # Player Sh SOG G A
------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------
G 1 Newton, Evan........ - - - - G 1 Talaat, Mahmoud..... - - - -
4 Kulp, A.J........... - - - - 4 Batista, Jonathan... - - - -
5 Kent, Jared......... 4 3 - 1 6 Peterson, Neal...... - - - -
7 Joseph, Nane........ 1 1 - - 8 Brack, Daryl........ 2 - - -
9 Elcock, Edson....... 5 1 1 1 9 Talaat, Ahmed....... 1 1 - -
11 Mottinger, Gregg.... - - - 1 10 Tangney, Padraig.... 1 - - -
12 Horst, David........ - - - - 11 Kilkenny, Greg...... 2 2 - -
16 Mackenzie, Ross..... 4 1 - - 13 Handy, Matt......... 1 - - 1
18 Montambo, Dylan..... - - - - 14 Ennis, Brendan...... 1 1 - -
20 Banks, Trevor....... 2 1 - - 17 Okland, Lars........ - - - -
22 Kinney, Zachary..... 2 1 1 - 20 Volk, Alexander..... 1 1 1 -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
2 Loizou, Jason....... - - - - 0 Monthey, Joe........ - - - -
3 Emmanuel, Ambane.... 2 - - - 2 Nasman, Kyle........ - - - -
15 Monroe, Justin...... - - - - 15 Patrikis, Nicholas.. - - - -
Totals.............. 20 8 2 3 19 Stefanek, Konrad.... - - - -
22 Koslosky, Brian..... - - - -
Totals.............. 9 5 1 1
ODU Northeastern
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
1 Newton, Evan........ 90:00 1 4 1 Talaat, Mahmoud..... 45:00 2 6
0 Monthey, Joe........ 45:00 0 0
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
ODU................. 15 5 - 20 ODU................. 1 3 - 4
Northeastern........ 3 6 - 9 Northeastern........ 6 0 - 6
Corner kicks 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
ODU................. 2 2 - 4 ODU................. 6 8 - 14
Northeastern........ 3 5 - 8 Northeastern........ 6 5 - 11
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 3:58 ODU Kinney, Zachary Elcock, Edson; Mottinger, Gregg cross from right side
2. 17:17 ODU Elcock, Edson Kent, Jared header off cross
3. 85:24 NU Volk, Alexander Handy, Matt
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
YC-NU #10 (36:45)
Officials: Referee: Ed Martins; Asst. Referee: Jim Triplett; Amilcar Sicaju;
Scorer: Ricky Popolizio;
Offsides: ODU 3, Northeastern 3.
