BROOKLINE — “Tobias, win this!”
The call echoed across the field, a clear message from Northeastern’s coaching staff to senior goaltender Tobias Jahn.
With less than four minutes left to play, it seemed likely that the match’s 1-1 tie would hold, but the Huskies had to hang on until the end. And with the Boston University Terriers threatening a corner kick, that became more important than ever.
The Terriers had had plenty of strong opportunities all game long, and Jahn’s stellar saves had managed to limit BU to one goal on their eight attempts.
That goal came in the 30th minute of play off the foot of junior defender, and all-Patriot League preseason honoree, Quin DeLaMater. DeLaMater intercepted an advancing Northeastern pass, taking it all the way down the field himself. From outside the penalty area, his well-placed shot made its way past a pair of Northeastern defenders — and Jahn’s outstretched arms — and into the low left corner. The goal was the first of DeLaMater’s career.
But on the other side of the pitch, Northeastern struggled to get on the board.
“Once we gave up that goal, our guys were kinda skittish,” said Northeastern first-year head coach Jeremy Bonomo. “I loved the way they responded in the second half because the last 15 or 20 minutes of the first half wasn’t great … they came back and bounced back.”
In the first half, BU had been putting the pressure on the Huskies. With cleaner footwork and confidence, the reigning Patriot League champions held Northeastern at bay.
However, the halftime break allowed the Huskies to regain their composure and catch their breath.
“These games are all about getting ready for the CAA. The things that we learned here, we want to make sure that we continue to do,” Bonomo said. ”The things that we aren’t doing well, we want to fix.
The Huskies were quick to put themselves on offense in the second half, finding strength in long passes and momentum on the right side of the field, thanks to the effort led by senior Griffin Polinsky. Those aspects put Northeastern senior forward Ethan Franco right in the goal box in the 69th minute, and in a desperate attempt to clear the ball, the Terriers found themselves on the wrong side of a penalty kick.
Junior forward Fraser Brown stepped up to take the kick for the Huskies, and he made it look easy as his missile sailed into the back of the net while the BU goaltender dove the opposite way. After leading Northeastern in goals in 2023 with five, Brown was quick to start chasing the crown again with his first goal of the season.
As time wore on, neither team was able to find cracks in their opponent’s play, but with each seeking their first victory of the season, they were desperate to force it. In the final 20 minutes, the refs awarded three fouls, three yellow cards, and four corner kicks, but none were enough to change the outcome of the game.
“Rivalry game, so it’s pretty chaotic. And so you always want to just cancel the first 15 minutes, and then when things settle down — I think it became a pretty good game,” Bonomo said.
While the tie was a step up from Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Rutgers, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, and that’s exactly what Northeastern hopes to do.
“This group is — you can call it new because there’s returners that have been here, but the staff is new, there’s been a lot of turnover from last year,” Bonomo said. “They’re gelling and as long as we’re improving every week and we’re playing our best at the end of the season, that’s what we want to do.”
The Huskies will host Siena College Sunday, Sept. 1 at noon for one more chance to warm up before conference play.