Box Score

ELON, N.C. – After suffering a 5-0 defeat to Elon during the regular season, the Northeastern men's soccer team was able to bounce back and knock out the Phoenix, 2-0, in the CAA quarterfinals on Saturday night.
 
Freshman Frantzdy Pierrot recorded three of the Huskies' seven shots in the match, and was credited with an assist after heading a ball to teammate Ackim Mpofu in the middle of the box early in the first half. Brad Fountain scored his fifth goal of the season for Northeastern, as head coach Brian Ainscough's team advanced to the CAA semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons.
 
Elon (9-6-4) took 18 shots in the match and 13 during the second half alone, but only managed to register five shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Dylan Faber tallied four saves on the night, and made several diving stops throughout the match to preserve the Huskies' fifth shutout of the year.
 
Northeastern (8-10-1) was flagged for aggressive play right from the start of the first half, as the Huskies committed six fouls in the opening ten minutes of the match. Pierrot was shown a yellow card in the 11th minute, but NU was quick to reclaim possession and push the ball upfield, ultimately winning a corner. Daniel Arvidsson proceeded to cross the ball into the box, and Pierrot scoped it out before heading it to Mpofu to put the Huskies up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
 
Even with a one-goal lead, Northeastern did not back off its intensity. By the 25th minute, the Huskies had accumulated 13 fouls to Elon's four, and earned a team save after Nick Goo helped break up a shot by Phoenix midfielder Luis Argudo.
 
After Pierrot missed a shot wide left off a corner from Donovan Fayd in the 28th minute, Elon began to penetrate the Huskies' defensive line, but could not find an equalizer after misfiring on two straight shots. A costly turnover at midfield by the Phoenix gave the Huskies a four-on-three counter attack, and NU capitalized with the extra man as Greenblatt found Fountain who drilled a shot past the keeper to extend Northeastern's lead to 2-0.
 
Two of Elon's six corners in the match came in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Northeastern defense prevented the Phoenix from registering a single shot. Elon forward Chad Craig booted a shot at Faber in the 63rd minute, but the NU keeper captured the ball to keep the Phoenix off the scoreboard once again.
 
Within a ten-minute window in the second half, the Husky defensive unit broke up eight shots, while Faber saved two shots on goal. Elon had three more chances in the final ten minutes to knot up the score, but it was to no avail, as the Huskies completed the shutout victory.
 
"It was a tremendous team effort tonight and I am very proud of our squad," said Ainscough. "The team has grown up every day this season, and tonight it showed from Dylan in the goal all the way out to Frantzdy up front. We are looking forward to playing a strong Delaware team next weekend in a rematch of last season's quarterfinal game."
 
The Huskies will take on the No. 1 Blue Hens on Friday, Nov. 14 in the CAA semifinals. Northeastern defeated Delaware on the road in overtime, 3-2, back on Oct. 22.