BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Northeastern women's soccer team enters the 2017 season with its sights set on a second consecutive CAA championship. The Huskies open the campaign against the Stony Brook Seawolves on Friday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. at Parsons Field before traveling to Worcester, Mass. for a match with Holy Cross on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.
Back-to-back Ambitions
After a banner year in 2016, Northeastern aims to defend the CAA title in an attempt to repeat as champions for the second time in five years. When the Huskies captured the conference championship in 2013, they followed up with a second tournament win in 2014 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. With fifteen players set to defend the title earned last season, Northeastern will be a force to be reckoned with once again in the CAA and on the national stage.
CAA Preseason Poll
With another competitive conference season on the horizon, the CAA announced that Northeastern has been pegged to finish first with 81 votes as voted by the conference's coaches. William & Mary has jumped from its fifth place finish last season to second in this year's preseason poll with 69 votes. Drexel and James Madison tied for third in the poll with 56 votes each while Hofstra landed in fifth with 48 votes. UNCW, College of Charleston, Delaware, Elon and Towson rounded out the projected CAA standings.
In addition to the No. 1 spot in the poll, the Huskies had four student-athletes recognized for their prospective success in 2017.
Hannah Lopiccolo was named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year and was named to the All-CAA preseason team. Joining her on the preseason team are forwards
Kayla Cappuzzo and
Hannah Rosenblatt. Goalkeeper
Nathalie Nidetch earned an honorable mention from the CAA as one of the top netminders in the conference.
2017 Captains
Seniors
Hannah Lopiccolo and
Kayla Cappuzzo, along with juniors
Eve Goulet and
Valentina Soares Gache, will steer Northeastern's ship this season as the team's four captains. Cappuzzo has 65 career starts under her belt while Lopiccolo is a veteran of 63 starts as a Husky. Soares Gache has appeared in 38 games in her two seasons as a Husky and Goulet has appeared in 12 games. This quartet of Huskies were selected by their teammates, coaches and staff to serve as captains and will aspire to bring the team back to the NCAA tournament.
Phillips Runs a Tight Ship
Ashley Phillips is beginning her second season as head coach of the program. She served as an assistant coach from 2010-15 and was the associate head coach in 2015 before she was promoted to her current position. In her first season at the helm, she guided the Huskies to a 14-7-1 record and the CAA title, the team's third in four seasons. After starting all four years at Clemson University as a goalkeeper, Phillips went on to play professionally for various teams, including the Boston Breakers.
Locomotive Lopiccolo
Already on the "players-to-watch" list of every team in the CAA, senior
Hannah Lopiccolo gears up for what should be an historic senior campaign. On Aug. 11, she was announced as the CAA preseason player of the year after receiving her third consecutive All-CAA First Team nomination last season. She is the first student-athlete in program history to be named to the All-CAA team three times. Entering the season with 16 goals and 10 assists on her resume, the senior captain has been one of the most dynamic midfielders in the nation over the last three seasons.
Milestones on the Horizon
Three Huskies are within striking distance of some impressive milestones this season that could change the look of the Northeastern women's soccer record book. Senior
Hannah Lopiccolo sits at 15 career goals and will threaten to reach the 20-goal plateau this season. Senior
Kayla Cappuzzo and junior
Hannah Rosenblatt are also nearing the 20-goal mark, each sitting on 14 career tallies. Only six players in program history have scored 20 goals or more in their careers. Last season, Cappuzzo broke the Northeastern record for assists in a single season when she racked-up eight helpers. Her 16 career assists are tied for third most in program history and she is only three assists away from tying the school record of 19 held by Liz Dyjak ('04).
Shining New Faces
Northeastern welcomes eight newcomers to the roster this year with seven freshmen and one transfer. Goalkeeper
Megan Adams, defenders
Julianne Ross and
Mikenna McManus, midfielder
Sophia Thompson and forwards
Kayla McCauley,
Katarina Nilsson and
Chelsea Domond round out the 2017 freshman class. Sophomore
Shannon Simmons joins this pack of Huskies from another pack: the University of Connecticut Huskies. Simmons has appeared in one collegiate game and will help hold the back line for NU.
Seasoned Veterans
Fifteen letterwinners from last year's team return to the pitch for the Huskies in 2017. Four seniors are entering their final season at Northeastern and are poised to haul in their third championship. Northeastern welcomes back its top-five scorers from last season and hopes to build upon its CAA-best 39 goals from 2016.
Scouting Stony Brook
With second-year head coach Brendan Faherty at the helm, the Stony Brook Seawolves enter the 2017 season pegged to finish fourth in the America East. After rolling to a 6-2-0 record in conference play, the third-place Seawolves were upset by sixth-place Vermont in a first-round matchup decided on penalty kicks. The offensive charge for Stony Brook was led by then-seniors Raven Edwards (7-3-17) and Amy Thompson (5-4-14). With their departures, the Seawolves will turn to sophomore forward Julie Johnstonbaugh (3-4-10) and junior midfielder Christen Cahill (1-5-6) to improve on their impressive offensive outputs from a year ago. In the last matchup between Northeastern and Stony Brook on Oct. 10, 2004, the Huskies outlasted the Seawolves 1-0 at Parsons Field. NU holds a 4-2-2 record all-time against SBU.
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders forge into the 2017 season with room for improvement on a 3-12-2 record from 2016. A bright spot for Holy Cross is the return of junior Ang Seslija who led the group in scoring with six goals and one assist. Goalkeepers Emma Gurchiek, Sophia Lettieri, and Caroline Cashion will compete for the starting job with the departure of former go-to starter Brooke Holle. Holy Cross had a tough time in opening halves last season, scoring four goals while surrendering 22. Northeastern has won six consecutive games against the Crusaders, including a 4-0 victory at Parsons Field last season. NU holds a 6-5-2 edge in the all-time series with Holy Cross.
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