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BOSTON, Mass. -- The Northeastern women's soccer team (5-3-0) returns to Parsons Field on Friday to host Dartmouth (4-2-0) before closing the nonconference season on the road at New Hampshire (4-3-0).
Week in review
The Huskies return to Boston after a two-game trip to the Lone Star State. Last Friday, Northeastern defeated TCU in a tight 2-1 affair. Junior
Nathalie Nidetch was spectacular as she made 11 saves to preserve the win for the Huskies. Sophomore
Kerri Zerfoss opened the scoring in the third minute and senior
Hannah Lopiccolo buried the eventual game-winner in the 14th minute. NU closed the weekend at Texas in a 3-2 loss. The Huskies opened the scoring on a free kick goal from
Valentina Soares Gache before two Texas goals put them in a 2-1 hole. Lopiccolo tapped home a brilliant pass from
Chelsea Domond to tie the game, but the Longhorns prevailed in overtime.
Protect Parsons
Friday's match vs. Dartmouth marks Northeastern's third home match of the season. The Huskies won their two previous home games this season and are undefeated at home since Sept. 11, 2016. During this program-best nine-game home winning streak, Northeastern has scored 21 goals, conceded only four goals, posted six shutouts and captured the 2016 CAA championship. Â
Locomotive Lopiccolo
Senior
Hannah Lopiccolo leads the Huskies in scoring through eight matches this season. She's potted three goals and has added two assists. Her game-tying goal against Texas propelled her to the 50-point plateau, making her the sixth player in Husky history to reach 50 career points. The CAA preseason player of the year is also sitting on 19 career goals. She has a chance to become the seventh player in program history to top 20 career goals.
Milestone Hunting
Lopiccolo, who reached the 50-point mark against Texas, isn't the only Husky looking to rewrite the record books this season. Senior
Kayla Cappuzzo is three points away from joining Lopiccolo in the 50-point club and is two assists away from tying the all-time record for career assists at Northeastern. Junior
Hannah Rosenblatt is also looking to add her name to the 20-goals list as she is sitting on 17 career goals heading into the weekend.
CAA Preseason Accolades
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.
Scouting Dartmouth
Northeastern and Dartmouth square off this weekend for the fifth time in program history. The Big Green have defeated the Huskies in all previous matches, including a 3-1 win over NU in 2015. Dartmouth enters Friday's match with a 4-2-0 record, but has won only once on the road this season (3-0 at Albany). Their offense is centered around senior Bianca Ribi and junior Remy Borinsky. Ribi leads the team in scoring with three goals and three assists through the team's first six matches. Borinsky has found the back of the net three times as well, while sophomore Alyssa Neuberger has notched two goals and two assists. Last season, the Big Green played to a 7-7-2 record overall, but struggled with an 0-5-2 record in Ivy League play.
Scouting New Hampshire
The Huskies and Wildcats meet for the 20th time in program history on Sunday as the Huskies close the book on nonconference play in 2017. NU has owned UNH historically, leading the all-time series 10-6-3. New Hampshire is the only opponent that Northeastern has defeated 10 times or more in program history. This season, the Wildcats own a 4-3-0 record through their first seven matches. Prior to action against the Huskies, UNH will take on Army on the road. Senior Brooke Murphy has taken charge in the goal-scoring department for UNH this season. Through the squad's first seven matches, she's posted five goals and one assist. Each of New Hampshire's four goal scorers this year have recorded a game-winning tally.
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