BROOKLINE — After a 4-1 blowout loss to Hofstra in Hempstead, New York, Northeastern looked to get back to form Saturday, hosting the Drexel Dragons on Senior Night.
Entering the day in fourth place in the CAA North, Northeastern was on the outside of the CAA Tournament picture, making Saturday’s conference matchup crucial to their postseason hopes.
The two schools had already faced off earlier in the season on Sept. 12, when Drexel won 4-3 after taking a 4-1 lead into halftime. Northeastern’s backline struggled in that match and needed to tighten up for the Huskies to have any chance at coming away with points.
Drexel entered the day having lost its previous two matches to non-conference opponents Villanova and NJIT after going unbeaten in its previous four, including the earlier win over Northeastern.
When the opening whistle blew, it was the Huskies that put pressure on Drexel early with graduate defender Christoph Schurz and freshman midfielder Tate Duax creating plenty of chances, including two shots on goal within the first fifteen minutes and multiple crossing opportunities into the box.
Freshman midfielder Julian Blalock eventually put Northeastern ahead 1-0 in the 40th minute, beating his defender with an impressive skill move from his left before finishing with his right foot for his first ever collegiate goal.
Less than a minute later, Schurz suffered a head injury after taking an unintentional left-footed kick to the face from Drexel fifth-year senior Julian Pittaulis, forcing him to leave the game.
Without Schurz, Drexel tried to capitalize with a goal of their own. The Dragons earned multiple set pieces but came away empty-handed as Northeastern’s defense kept them off the board.
However, in the second half, Drexel was finally able to score in the 53rd minute on a cross from senior forward Victor Moerck that looked almost improvised, but a header from junior Sharif Mohammed put the ball in the top right of the net to equalize things at one.
After 10 minutes of even possession, Northeastern regained the lead in the 64th minute.
On a Huskies corner kick, junior defender Ethan Leary found the ball after it rolled past two Dragons and finished with his right foot to make it 2-1. Like Blalock, it was also Leary’s first career collegiate goal, as he earned his first ever point last season with one assist.
For the rest of the game, it was the combination of Northeastern’s backline and understanding the situation that secured the victory for the Huskies. Tackles from Leary and graduate defenseman Matty Gardner kept Drexel’s open plays at bay.
With the win, the Huskies moved into third place in the CAA North with seven points, improving to 5-3-2 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play. If the regular season ended today, the Huskies would qualify for their first CAA Tournament since 2022, as the top three finishers in each division earn a postseason berth. The win also surpassed Northeastern’s total from each of the previous three seasons, when the Huskies finished with four wins.
With just six games left to go in the regular season, and three of those being conference games, the Huskies will look to keep up their current form as they take on Harvard on Tuesday in a match that was rescheduled from the previous weekend due to the Nor’easter that rocked the east coast.
Daniel Ku is a fourth-year student at Northeastern University, covering Northeastern sports since 2024. Read all of his articles here, and find him on Twitter/X here.