BROOKLINE — As the cheers of youth soccer players rang out over Parsons Field, Northeastern men’s soccer walked off with a hard-fought 1-1 tie against the SUNY Albany Great Danes Tuesday night.
Hot off of their two wins last week against rivals Boston University as well as Drexel University, the Huskies were clearly trying to keep up the momentum. A dominant first half followed by a foul-ridden second half led to the tie, which also happened to be the Huskies’ Youth Day game, making Tuesday night’s audience fervent as ever.
Albany found themselves in Northeastern’s half quite a bit as play opened, but the Huskies would reestablish possession. Shortly thereafter, Northeastern midfielder Alec Kenison made a winding run near Albany’s net before being fouled, halting momentum.
After a relatively hot start, Northeastern found themselves obtaining early control of the game. About six minutes into the first half, senior defender Christoph Schurz slid in to block a low shot from the Great Danes, invigorating the crowd and showing defensive grit from the Huskies.
The Huskies put the pressure on Albany in the first half, establishing multiple dangerous sequences featuring Schurz, sophomore Ethan Leary and senior Rohin Kapila.
A Great Danes free kick opportunity with 32 minutes to play in the first half went wanting as the Danes couldn’t put it on net.
Around the midpoint of the first half, Northeastern’s Asiah Carrol weaved through Albany’s defense and got off a shot that went wide left of the net. Another foul by the Huskies gave Albany a free kick, but Jahn caught the delivery.
As the half continued, the fouls ticked up from both sides. Northeastern won another free kick via Julius Rüger, which went directly into the Great Danes’ goalie’s hands.
In the final six minutes of the first half, Albany retained possession before junior forward Andre Navas sent one in for the Great Danes. Jahn dove to his left, caught the ball and quickly sent it out.
Senior defender Jaden Prado charged up the field, nabbing the ball from Albany and crossing to freshman Shai Saarony. Saarony laid in wait and sent the ball right into the bottom left of the net, giving Northeastern the lead at about 42 minutes into play. It was the freshman’s first career goal, giving the Huskies loads of momentum and making the score 1-0.
The goal in the waning minutes of the first half punctuated a relatively dominant half for Northeastern, in which they played in a calculated manner that created stronger chances. While Albany may have found themselves with more scoring opportunities, the Huskies were the ones that capitalized.
Northeastern switched things up in the second half, swapping nearly the entire lineup to put in Bryce Flowers, Kade Tepe, Will Schmidt, Morris Matthews, Matty Gardner and Neil Devnani. Albany found themselves defending heavily in this frame, desperate to keep Northeastern from another chance to score. It was a physical opening, with five fouls in the first ten minutes.
With just over 42 minutes left, a Northeastern throw-in ended up in Devnani’s possession. Devnani then charged through the Great Danes before having the ball swiped from him,
Two minutes later, Albany had a dangerous scoring opportunity with a player charging toward the net before Leary sprinted up from behind to make a crucial sliding stop, keeping the Huskies’ lead.
A throw-in later ended up in the possession of Schmidt, who cut into the box and tried sending it through with a low shot forcing a save by Albany’s goalkeeper. Refusing to slow down, Prado then carried the ball deep before it was snagged by Devnani, who passed it back. Prado tried sending it into Flowers, but it was swept up.
Around the 71st minute, an Albany player ran up the field toward Northeastern’s net before being pulled back by Gardner, earning him a yellow card. The free kick from Albany was sent into a header from Rodrigo Hermelo, which was caught and sent out by Jahn.
Less than ten seconds after Northeastern’s yellow card, Hermelo was scolded by the referee and earned one of his own for pushing. Shortly thereafter, Albany subbed out four players, changing their line in a clear attempt to regain control of the match.
This switch up may have been exactly what the Great Danes needed. They earned a free kick with a little over nine minutes left, sending it in for a cross that was nabbed by sophomore Breckin Fett, who twisted to send the ball right past Jahn into the bottom right of the goal and make the score 1-1.
The Huskies were frustrated with the late-game change in momentum, and it showed. With a little over five minutes left, Devnani pulled the jersey of an Albany player and angrily kicked the ball out of the field, earning Northeastern their second yellow card of the match.
Ultimately, the Huskies allowed their strong start to slip from them. Whether it was a lack of stamina or getting too comfortable with a one point lead, they ran out of gas in the second half, leading to Tuesday night’s tie.
Northeastern’s final game of the season will take place on the road at 2 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 1 against Stony Brook.
Siera Qosaj is a second-year student at Northeastern University. She is an aspiring sports journalist. You can find her on Twitter here.