BOSTON – After opening conference play with a draw and a loss last weekend, the Northeastern women's soccer team (7-4-1, 0-1-1 CAA) will look to earn its first wins of the CAA season this weekend against the College of Charleston (8-3-0, 2-0-0 CAA) and UNCW (8-3-1, 1-0-1 CAA). Northeastern went 5-0-1 against CAA opponents at Parsons Field last season, including wins over William & Mary and Hofstra in the postseason.
HISTORY VS. CHARLESTONThe Huskies and Cougars have met twice before (both in Charleston) with NU prevailing in both games by a score of 3-0. Last season, NU scored all three goals in the second half to earn a victory on Oct. 19 at Patriots Point.
Krista Meaglia opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, before
Kayla Cappuzzo doubled the lead on 70 minutes.
Shayna Blackwood then capped the scoring with 35 seconds remaining as NU outshot the Cougars, 14-2.
HISTORY VS. UNCWNortheastern is 6-5-0 all-time against UNCW. Last season, the Huskies earned a tight 1-0 victory in Wilmington courtesy of a 31st-minute strike from
Kayla Cappuzzo. NU also defeated the Seahawks in the teams' last meeting at Parsons Field–a 2-1 decision on Sept. 29, 2013.
SOARES GACHE OPENS ACCOUNTFreshman
Valentina Soares Gache scored her first collegiate goal in a 3-1 loss at William & Mary on Sept. 27. The rookie cut the Tribe lead to 2-1 in the 65th minute with a header following a
Breeana Koemans corner kick. Northeastern outshot William & Mary by a 12-6 margin and held a 7-0 edge in corner kicks, but fell prey to a Samantha Cordum hat trick in the loss.
NU DRAWS ELON IN CAA OPENERThe Huskies held a 22-7 edge in shots, including a 9-2 margin in shots on goal, but could not find a breakthrough in a 0-0 draw at Elon on Sept. 25. Northeastern had several quality chances in the first half, including a shot by
Breeana Koemans that was cleared off the line, but heavy rain and an organized Elon defense held the Huskies' attack off the scoresheet for just the second time this season.
NU STAYS UNBEATEN IN OVERTIMENortheastern moved to 3-0-1 in overtime games this season following the 0-0 draw at Elon on Sept. 25. The Huskies have outshot their opponents by an 18-4 margin in extra time this year, and have yet to concede a corner kick in 48 minutes of overtime.
NU RANKED FIFTH IN MID-ATLANTICFor the sixth straight week, the Northeastern women's soccer team was ranked in the top 10 of the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll. The Huskies checked in at No. 5 in the poll released on Sept. 29, after spending the last five weeks at No. 2. Hofstra ascended to the top spot in this week's poll, while William & Mary (No. 4), James Madison (No. 6) and UNCW (No. 9) also earned top-10 honors to give the CAA five of the top nine slots overall.
STRENGTH OF THE CAAEntering the month of October, all 10 teams in the CAA own records above the .500 mark. Six of the 10 Colonial teams are currently ranked in the top 100 of the national RPI rankings (No. 28 Hofstra, No. 47 UNCW, No. 52 Northeastern, No. 59 William & Mary, No. 73 JMU, No. 84 Delaware). The CAA is one of just eight conferences nationwide to have at least six top-100 RPI teams, joining the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, AAC, and WCC.
KEEP IT CLEANNortheastern has posted shutouts in four of its last seven games entering the weekend. The Huskies earned their first clean-sheet of the season with a 3-0 win over Maine on Sept. 6, before posting another shutout a week later in a 2-0 win at URI. NU then kept back-to-back clean-sheets against UNH and Elon on Sept. 20 and 25, growing their shutout streak to more than 240 consecutive minutes in the process. Last year, the Huskies ranked fourth nationally with 17 shutouts in 23 matches.
