By Peyton Doyle and Khalin Kapoor
Rich Weinrebe started off his first season strong as Northeastern’s newest men’s soccer coach. The former UNH assistant went 2-1-3 in his first six games, with his only loss coming in a one-goal match against BC.
However, the rest of the season didn’t go exactly to plan.
In late September and October, the Husky attack was dampened by injuries. In the eight games after their strong start, Northeastern went 1-7 and got shutout five times. But the Huskies surged to end the regular season, winning back-to-back conference games to earn them the No.4 seed in the CAA Tournament.
Northeastern faltered in the tournament, dropping their first game to Drexel 1-0 to end their season.
This year, Weinrebe prepares his team with a hardy non-conference schedule for the second year in a row. The conference slate will feature one less game than last season, but will give Northeastern their first ever look at Rutgers and CAA-newcomer Campbell.
The following lists the 2023 season schedule in order and provides information on which matchups to keep an eye on.
August
Away – UMass, Thursday the 24th
The Huskies will open their season against the Minutemen for the second year in a row. Last season, Weinrebe made his debut as Northeastern’s head coach with a 1-1 draw with UMass at home. This year, the Minutemen and reigning A-10 offensive player of the year Alec Hughes will once again pose a tough challenge for the Huskies’ new center backs.
Home – UMass Lowell, Monday the 28th
Northeastern’s home opener will come against a UMass Lowell team that doesn’t have very high expectations this season. The Riverhawks went 2-9-5 last year and didn’t record a conference win. They were recently predicted to finish last in the America East preseason poll. The last time the two teams played in 2019, the Huskies won 2-1 and they should be able to grab another win this year.
September
Away – UNCW, Saturday the 2nd
After finishing second in the CAA last season, the Seahawks were picked to come in third in this year’s conference preseason poll. Northeastern hasn’t topped UNCW since 2018 and has not won a game in Wilmington since the 2008 CAA tournament. Led by midfielder Pep Casas, the Seahawks have a good chance of extending their home winning streak against the Huskies.
Away – Quinnipiac, Tuesday the 5th
Rich Weinrebe is not messing around with non-conference games. This matchup with the Bobcats may be the toughest contest of the first month of the Huskies’ season. Quinnipiac earned nine of a possible 11 first-place votes in the MAAC Preseason Poll and forward Brage Aasen was voted the Preseason Player of the Year. Last year the Huskies were able to hold Aasen off the scoresheet in their 2-2 draw with the Bobcats at home. This year, traveling to Connecticut, Northeastern will have their hands full.
Home – Charleston, Saturday the 9th
The Cougars come into the 2023 season on the lower end of the CAA Preseason Poll. They did have one player – forward Chris Elliot – on the preseason All-CAA team, but not many other standouts. Over the past few seasons, Northeastern has had quite a strange relationship with Charleston. The Huskies won 7-0 in the fall of 2021 but lost last season on the road 1-0. This year, Northeastern holds the stronger roster and will play at the friendly confines of Parsons Field where they have won four straight against the Cougars.
Away – Harvard, Tuesday the 12th
Shortly after they take on the Cougars, the Huskies will take the short trip over to Cambridge to face the Crimson. Last year, Northeastern came away with a 3-2 win when they played Harvard at home. This season, the Crimson should provide another entertaining contest. The biggest thing to keep an eye on will be the midfield matchups between Northeastern’s Federico Tellez and Harvard’s Alessandro Arlotti and Willem Ebbinge. Arlotti and Ebbinge were All-Ivy First Teamers last season.
Away – William & Mary, Saturday the 16th
With their next away game, the Huskies don’t get the luxury of a local opponent as they travel nearly 700 miles to Williamsburg. While they were picked to finish sixth in the CAA this season, the Tribe were one of just two teams to not have a player on the Preseason All-CAA Team. Last year’s contest between the two programs provided the biggest fireworks of the entire season for Northeastern. On Senior Day, the Huskies scored twice in the last 10 minutes to come back from an early one-goal deficit, with Omar Da Naia’s winner in the 90th being the highlight of the season. While this year’s match most likely won’t have the same dramatics, it’ll still be a solid contest between two teams vying for a playoff spot.
Home – Stony Brook, Saturday the 23rd
CAA voters do not have much faith in the 2023 Seawolves. After finishing eighth in the conference last season, Stony Brook was picked to come in last place in the conference preseason poll. This game at home should be a great opportunity for the Huskies to take a breath and rotate the squad before the most trying stretch of the year.
Away – Campbell, Saturday the 30th
The first game of Northeastern’s final gauntlet of contests will be a trip down to North Carolina. This match is the first game between the Huskies and the Cougars, the newest member of the CAA. Coming in as the 2022 Big South regular season champ, Campbell should be ready to compete with the top tier of CAA teams right away and will be a tough out for Northeastern.
October
Home – UNH, Tuesday the 3rd
To continue their grueling stretch of games at the back half of the season, Northeastern will welcome the 2022 America East Champions to Boston. UNH clawed their way to 15 wins last season and have made the NCAA tournament in each of the last five years. However, superstar keeper Jassem Koleilat, who started 41 games over the past two seasons for UNH and allowed just 22 total goals, graduated last year. Picking up the slack at the position will be graduate student transfer Joseba Incera from Radford, who has a 14-26-5 career record.
Home – Elon, Saturday the 7th
In the second game of their homestand, Northeastern will have to grapple with the second-ranked Phoenix. Elon is looking to rise from the ashes after losing against Hofstra in the CAA tournament and Marshall in the first round of the NCAA tournament. However, they lost starting keeper Ryan Bilichuk (0.63 GAA) and top scorer Mason Duval (7 goals), so this is a match that the Huskies should be able to keep competitive.
Home – Bryant, Tuesday the 10th
This game is a good opportunity for the Huskies to catch their breath. Bryant went 6-7-3 last season and was ranked seventh of eight teams in this year’s America East preseason poll. However, the Bulldogs brought in Ruben Resendes to be the new head coach, who won 25 games and a DII championship with Franklin Pierce last season. This is still a rebuilding program, so Northeastern should be able to take care of business before heading on the road.
Away – Monmouth, Saturday the 14th
The Hawks were picked to finish tenth this year in the CAA Preseason Poll, a year after missing the tournament in their first year in the conference. They were overmatched last year in CAA play, going 2-6-1 overall, but they have retained some top players. All-Rookie keeper Eryk Dymora returns for his sophomore season after posting a 1.02 goals allowed average in 15 starts, good for third in the CAA. Even with Dymora between the pipes, Monmouth is still a few years away from being a legitimate threat.
Away – BU, Tuesday the 17th
Northeastern and BU continue their once-a-year tradition with a match at BU’s Nickerson Field, after the Huskies prevailed at home in comeback fashion last season 2-1. The Terriers reached the Patriot League semifinals for the first time in five years last year and were picked to finish second in this year’s preseason poll. Seniors Francesco Montali and Griffin Roach were both picked to repeat as conference keeper and defensive player of year, respectively, and will force Northeastern to stay creative in their attack. The Huskies have won three of their past four matchups but will have their work cut out for them this year.
Home – Rutgers, Saturday the 21st
In perhaps their most difficult test of the season, Northeastern will face off against the 2022 Big 10 champions. This is their first matchup in program history. The Scarlet Knights went 10-5-6 last season, but lost star forward MD Myers to New York City FC of the MLS. Myers led the Big Ten with 13 goals and 33 points and accounted for more than 30% of Rutgers’ scoring last year. The Scarlet Knights will still be favored to win this match, but Northeastern should be able to keep it close by playing tight defense at midfield.
Away – Merrimack, Tuesday the 24th
The Huskies will travel to North Andover for just the second time in team history for their final away match of the regular season. There is also some history between these two teams, as Merrimack’s first win as a D1 program came against Northeastern in 2019. Last year, the Warriors went 8-6-3 and lost in the Northeast Conference semifinal round in penalty kicks. Junior keeper Alvaro Rodriguez led the conference with an .868 save percentage and was named to the All-NEC second team. This is definitely a winnable game for Northeastern and they’ll need the momentum of a victory heading into their next match against Hofstra.
Home – Hofstra, Saturday the 28th
Northeastern will conclude its regular season with a match against Hofstra, the No. 1 team in the CAA Preseason Poll by a hefty margin. The Pride, the reigning back-to-back conference champs, received nine first-place votes in the poll; no other team got more than one. Led by one of the deadliest scorers in the country, Eliot Goldthorp, Hofstra will be difficult for any team to conquer this season. Northeastern should hope that they secure a spot in the postseason ahead of this matchup.
Final Thoughts
This season’s schedule is a bit unconventional. Northeastern’s first major test comes in the first weekend of September against UNCW, and the next three CAA matchups shouldn’t be too difficult.
However, the last four weeks of the regular season are a bloodbath. There is a legitimate case to be made that Rutgers, Hofstra, BU, Elon, Campbell, and UNH are the six best teams Northeastern will face all season. Luckily for the Huskies, four of those contests will be at home, where they played to a 3-2-3 record last year.
If Northeastern can survive their October gauntlet, at least in terms of the conference contests, then they should find themselves in the CAA tournament for the third year in a row.