The Stony Brook women’s soccer team took its final bow of the season after falling to Northeastern, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) women’s soccer championship tournament.
The Seawolves (7-8-4, 4-3-3 CAA) had their season ended by the Huskies on Thursday at the Vidas Athletic Complex in Philadelphia. A slow start on both sides of the ball sealed Stony Brook’s fate, and a late comeback effort in the second half fell short.
“I thought our performance in the second half was good and we created plenty of opportunities,” head coach Tobias Bischof said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “In the first half we didn’t execute as well, but we also have to give credit to Northeastern. Overall, it was a good first year in the CAA with a young team.”
Northeastern opened the scoring in the 14th minute when forward Vivian Akyirem scored off of an assist from forward Nina Dooley. Stony Brook’s offense was silent in the first half, only totaling one shot on goal to challenge Northeastern goalkeeper Holland Stam. Early in the second half, Akyirem found the back of the net once again on an unassisted goal to give the Huskies a commanding 2-0 lead.
Forward Reilly Rich gave the team some life, scoring on a penalty kick in the 71st minute to cut the deficit in half. Stony Brook outshot Northeastern in the second half 5-4, but the Huskies’ defense held its ground.
Stony Brook struggled to generate much offense, taking just seven shots with only three on target. Northeastern outshot them with a total of 12 shots and seven on target. The Seawolves generated more corner kicks than the Huskies, besting them 6-5 in that category. However, that small advantage was not enough to get them over the hump.
Goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella tallied four saves during the match, including an incredible diving save early in the second half to keep the deficit at one goal. This was Pasquarella’s lowest save total since Sept. 25 against Hampton, where the Pirates failed to attempt a single shot. Since then she totaled at least six saves in every game until Thursday night.
Rich’s goal was her eighth of the season. She ended her first season with Stony Brook as the team’s top goal-scorer. Her eight goals was the highest total by a Seawolf since forward Alyssa Francese scored 12 in the 2019 season. Rich also became the first Seawolf to crack 20 points in a season since both Francese and forward Fanny Götteson did it that same year.
As for Akyirem, her stellar freshman season continued. Her two goals gave her 11 for the year, currently placing her third in the CAA.
Stony Brook ended the season on a somber note, as the team was unable to send off its seniors with a CAA championship.
“The last game of the year is always a tough one for me,” Bischof said. “I am very thankful to our seniors for all they gave to our program. They are good people and will do great things in their future.”
After being projected to finish in 10th place before the season began, the Seawolves proved their doubters wrong. Now, they have something to build on for the 2023 season.
