Box Score Box score

The Northeastern men's soccer team tied No. 25 James Madison in a double overtime thriller Saturday at Parsons Field.

The Huskies came out fired up prepared to knock off a ranked opponent at home, however fell just short in the double overtime battle.

“We knew they were a really good team coming in. They are direct, physical and don't go down very easily. We knew we had to match that,” said head coach Brian Ainscough.

The first half favored Northeastern as they outshot JMU 9-6. From the beginning the Huskies looked to feed freshman attacker Ricardo McDonald, who found several opportunities but was silenced by Dukes keeper Ken Manahan.

Both teams battled back and forth with each picking up eight fouls in the first.

With four minutes remaining in the half JMU found its best scoring opportunity on a CJ Sapong header that was picked off by keeper Oliver Blum.

To end the half, Top Phataraprasit, who started in his first game of the season, hit the far post in what looked like a snipe effort from the top of the box.

To begin the second half JMU's Markus Bjorkheim scored on an assist from Steven Mashinski, in the games 66th minute. The goal came on a botched defensive effort that led to Bjorkheim getting an open look on net off of a blocked shot from Mashinski.

“We've been shooting ourselves in the foot all season and need to learn from our mistakes,” said Ainscough.

The Huskies fell behind first, but were able to keep their composure and not lose sight of their game plan. In the games 75th minute Nick Lueders found McDonald with a well placed lead pass that resulted in him beating keeper Manahan in net.

With the game tied the Huskies maintained their focus on containing one of the top talents in the nation in CJ Sapong. Sapong came in to the game with six goals on the season, good for being tied for second in the nation.

Three minutes after his first goal, McDonald was once again found open in front of the net. This time it was on a well-placed ball by Don Anding, giving the Huskies the 2-1 lead on McDonalds third goal of the season.

The Huskies found themselves with the lead and only 17 minutes remaining in the game, hoping to continue their stellar defense in securing a victory.

The Dukes finished regulation putting up shot after shot, led by CJ Sapong who made his presence felt all game with 11 shots on net, none more important than his game-tying goal on a pass from across the box from Mashinkski, with 1:14 left to play.

“We gave him the chance and it was really just too easy,” said Ainscough.

Closing out regulation the Huskies found themselves with one last opportunity on a corner from Mike Kennedy, however JMU was able to clear the ball from the box.

In the overtime periods the Huskies found themselves outplayed by a Dukes team who was looking to leave Brookline with a win. JMU outshot the Huskies 9-2 in overtime, and standout Sapong was able to find the ball often.

Four minutes in to the first overtime Sapong was able to get free from the Huskies defenders and fired a shot on net that was saved by Blum.

The Huskies had to worry more about keeping the ball out of the hands of JMU than being able to focus on getting scoring opportunities.

“The last 20 minutes we were trying to keep them off our heels, they came out with a vengeance after falling behind late,” said Ainscough.

With 4:15 left in the second overtime Blum was called for a foul in the box as he chased an abandoned ball, just barely being out beaten by Sapong. Sapong was awarded a penalty kick, however was unable to win the game as Blum made a diving save to the left side and blocked the shot.

“It was an amazing save,” said Ainscough.

The Huskies go to 2-4-2 on the season while JMU goes to 6-1-1.

“We had all the chances in the first half. They were able to take over a bit, but we got really fortunate with McDonald finishing at the net. We have good players with a lot of talent, were just still trying to find ourselves,” said Ainscough.

The Huskies next match will be Wednesday Oct. 6 at Parsons Field against Delaware.