Women’s Soccer: Terriers fight back to earn draw in rivalry game against Northeastern

By Charlie DeMatteo

Boston University women’s soccer (2-2-2) came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against their Boston rivals Northeastern (2-2-1) on Sunday night in Brookline. 

After a scoreless first half, an Erin Sullenberger goal for the Terriers canceled out CAA Preseason Player of the Year Vivian Akyirem’s 60th-minute goal which initially put the Huskies in front. Just 10 minutes later, though, Sullenberger was able to pull BU level.

“I thought it was a really strong performance overall on both sides of the ball,” BU head coach Casey Brown said postgame. “We know these crosstown games are always going to be a dogfight.”

BU controlled possession early on in the contest. Some slick build-up play in the 9th minute between freshman forward Samantha Aronson and sophomore midfielder Giulianna Gianino set up a chance for junior forward Morgan Fagan, but her effort was not strong enough to cause any trouble for the Huskies.

Only a minute later, Northeastern had a chance of their own when sophomore midfielder Ava Nace had a sight of goal but could not keep her effort down. 

BU’s junior goalkeeper Celia Braun was forced into action in the 19th and 27th minutes when she came up with two crucial saves to keep the Terriers level with the Huskies.

“[Braun] has done great for us all year and she can come up in big moments,” Brown said. “The hard part about that position is you don’t when you have to come up with it and she does a great job.”

The Huskies and Terriers entered the break in a 0-0 deadlock.

“We felt like we were organized [in the first half], we just felt like we could get a little bit more from our attack,” Brown said.

A sloppy opening 15 minutes of the second half saw neither team come close to breaking the deadlock, until the 60th minute. A swift attack from the Huskies and a great pass from senior midfielder Jessie Hunt set up Akyirem, who coolly slotted a finish into the bottom left corner of Braun’s net.

Less than 10 minutes later, though, BU responded with a goal of their own to equalize. 

In the 69th minute, Gianino made a bursting run down the left flank and dinked a cross at the byline which was poked home by Sullenberger, tying the score at one.

“At practice, I’m always trying to get into the [six-yard box] and just get a touch on things,” Sullenberger said. “I was just thinking ‘get a touch on it, try to redirect it.’”

When heads could have dropped late in the game, the Terriers instead pushed on and found an answer.

“I’m really proud of the mentality,” Brown said. “Especially when you go down like that to have a response I thought was excellent by the group.”

In the 75th minute, Sullenberger had another chance with a sliding effort from the edge of the box just dribbling wide.

“Goals come with momentum,” Sullenberger said. “I saw my chance and was disappointed it went wide but it was a good opportunity.”

Neither team came close to finding the winning goal in the final 15 minutes and the spoils were shared.

The Terriers will return home on Thursday to play the University of Maine at 6 p.m.