Box Score

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Hannah Lopiccolo scored in the 85th minute for Northeastern (11-4-3, 6-1-1 CAA) to force overtime, as the Huskies battled to a 2-2 draw with visiting Delaware (7-8-2, 3-3-2 CAA) on Friday night at Parsons Field in Brookline.
 
Northeastern, which entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in both shutouts and team goals against average, surrendered two goals for the first time this season. The Huskies, though, dominated play, and finished the game with a decisive 21-7 advantage in shots, and a 12-1 margin in corner kicks.
 
NU twice came back from one-goal deficits on the evening to earn the tie and maintain its spot atop the CAA standings with 19 points.
 
The Red and Black still controls its own destiny and can capture the CAA regular season title and clinch home-field advantage throughout the CAA tournament with a victory on Sunday in the regular-season finale against Drexel at Parsons Field (1 p.m.).
 
The Huskies controlled play for much of the opening 45 minutes and allowed just one shot on goal by the Blue Hens. UD sophomore forward Natalie Zelenky corralled a long pass from Elise Krause that drew NU keeper Paige Burnett away from the goal. Zelenky carried the ball into the box and buried a shot in the ninth minute to give the Hens the early lead.
 
Following the Delaware goal, the Huskies went on the offensive, earning four corners and holding play in front of the UD keeper. NU finally broke through on the fourth corner, when Shayna Blackwood poked in a shot from the right side off a feed from Bianca Calderone to level the score in the 35th minute. The goal was Blackwood's second of the season.
 
The Huskies, who held an 8-1 advantage in shots in the first half, continued to control play coming out of the locker room. Kayla Cappuzzo registered a shot on goal in the 66th minute and Lopiccolo followed with a shot on goal of her own just two minutes later. Delaware keeper Jess Figueroa turned away both scoring bids to keep the game knotted at 1-1.
 
As the match entered the final 15 minutes of regulation, the Blue Hens picked up the attack. The visitors earned a corner — their only one of the game — in the 77th minute. A minute later, Zelenky fired a shot wide in one of UD's seven shots on the night. The Hens continued to apply pressure and again took the lead when Zelenky found Rachel Vaccaro in transition for a goal in the 79th minute.
 
The lead was short-lived, however. As the regulation clocked ticked under five minutes, the Huskies' Lahaina Zoller dribbled the ball across the top of the box and delivered a pass to Lopiccolo. The freshman—looking nothing like a rookie—beat a UD defender on the right side and drilled the ball inside the far post to again bring the home-standing Huskies even at two-apiece.
 
It looked like NU might steal the game in the waning moments when Carina Deandreis sent a scoring bid from the top of the box that nearly found the lower left corner, but Figueroa made a diving save to preserve the tie for the Hens.
 
The teams played two fast and furious overtime periods. Delaware put two shots on goal—equaling its output over 90 minutes of regulation—while the Huskies notched four scoring opportunities in extra time.
 
Northeastern will return to the pitch on Sunday at 1 p.m., when it welcomes Drexel to Parsons Field for Senior Day in the regular-season finale.

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