PHILADELPHIA – Vivian Akyirem scored twice and
Holland Stam and the Huskies defense kept Stony Brook (7-8-4) quiet for most of the night as the women's soccer team (9-5-4) knocked off the Seawolves in the CAA Quarterfinals on Thursday night at Vidas Field, 2-1.
With the win, No. 3 Northeastern advances to the conference semifinals for the third straight season, and will battle No. 2 Drexel on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of that match will advance to and host the conference championship game on Saturday, Nov. 5.
• Northeastern wasted no time taking control of the game, bolting out to a 1-0 lead just 14 minutes in as
Nina Dooley found Akyiremalong the right side following a Stony Brook turnover. Akyirem then did the rest, burying a right-footed show past SBU goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella (four saves) for the strike.
• Northeastern nearly made it a two-goal game when the Huskies were awarded a penalty kick early in the second half, but Pasquarellamade a diving stop on a low shot from
Katherine Marchesseault to keep the deficit at one.
• Minutes later, though, the Huskies did just that as Akyirem found the back of the yet again, using her speed to blow past a defender and sneak one past Pasquarella for the two-goal Northeastern advantage with 31 minutes to go.
• Stony Brook cut the deficit to one with 19:13 to play in regulation when Reilly Rich converted on a penalty kick on a low shot to the left.
• At the other end, Stam and the NU defense was strong from start to finish, limiting the Seawolves to just seven shots with Stam making two saves on the night.
• Akyirem's day moved her into a tie for fifth on Northeastern's single-season goals list (11), the most for a Husky since 2016. Her 23 points on the year, meanwhile, are good for fourth among rookies in Northeastern single-season history and are the most since 2009.
• Sunday's match against Drexel will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Huskies and Dragons battled to a 2-2 tie on October 13 at Parsons Field in Brookline, Mass.
