CLEMSON, S.C. – Winners of four straight games, the CAA champion Northeastern women's soccer team (14-6-1) will look to knock off No. 3 seed Clemson (13-4-3) in the NCAA tournament opening round on Sunday at Riggs Field at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN 3.
NORTHEASTERN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Northeastern will be making its fourth trip to the NCAA tournament (and first under head coach
Ashley Phillips) in 2016. The Huskies are 1-3-1 all-time in the competition, with their lone win coming in 2014–a 2-0 victory at Boston University. NU took the lead on a 29th-minute own-goal following a shot attempt by
Carly Wilhelm, and then doubled the advantage in the 78th minute when
Taylor Caparo finished a
Kayla Cappuzzo cross in the box. The Huskies went on to battle hard against the eventual national champion, Florida State, in the second round, before falling to the Seminoles, 3-0. Thirteen players who took part in that historic 2014 run remain on the Northeastern roster this season.
CAA CHAMPIONS
Led by the CAA Championship's Most Outstanding Player,
Hannah Rosenblatt, the Huskies claimed their third conference championship in the last four seasons with a 3-0 victory over Drexel in the CAA title game on Nov. 6 at Parsons Field. Rosenblatt, sophomore
Nicole Gorman and senior
Carina Deandreis scored for Northeastern, and junior
Kayla Cappuzzo added two assists to break the single-season program record with her seventh and eighth helpers of the year.
Following the match, Rosenblatt, Deandreis, senior
Jenny Sinclair and sophomore
Nathalie Nidetch were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team. Deandreis, Sinclair and Nidetch helped Northeastern post clean-sheets in both the semifinals and the final, while Rosenblatt scored the game-winning goals in both tournament games.
SCOUTING CLEMSON
Ranked No. 12 in the latest NSCAA national poll, Clemson (13-4-3) shared the ACC regular season title with Notre Dame, before falling to eventual conference champion, Florida State, in the ACC semifinals. The Tigers boast a dangerous attack, ranking 19th in the nation with 2.25 goals per game. Head coach Eddie Radwanski was named ACC Coach of the Year, and Catrina Atanda, Kailen Sheridan, Sam Staab and Claire Wagner each earned All-ACC accolades. Atanda leads the team with 12 goals, while Staab has tallied 11 assists. The Huskies and the Tigers have faced two of the same opponents this season in Elon and Boston College – Clemson was victorious in both matches, while NU beat Elon and fell to BC.
ALL-TIME VS. CLEMSON
The Tigers and the Huskies have met twice before this season, splitting those matchups. In 2009, NU earned a 2-1 victory over Clemson at the Nike Invitational for the program's first-ever win over an ACC opponent. Two years later, the Huskies dropped a 2-1 decision on the Tigers' home turf in 2011.
REUNION FOR PHILLIPS
The matchup with the Tigers will be a homecoming for head coach
Ashley Phillips, who starred as a three-time All-ACC goalkeeper at Clemson from 2004-07. Phillips still holds the Clemson program record for most career saves with 326, including a single-season best 119 stops in 2006. She was named third-team All-America in 2006 and was a three-time All-Southeast Region and three-time All-ACC selection (first team in 2007). In 2007, Phillips was also named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List. She ended her career with a 1.09 goals against average and 22 shutouts and helped lead the Tigers to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 2006.
SENIOR SALUTE
Northeastern's 11 seniors are taking part in the final postseason run of their collegiate careers. Since 2013, the senior class has tallied a total of 39 goals and 28 assists and has led the team to three conference championships, three NCAA tournament appearances, and a 46-28-11 overall record.
