By Zach Hayes, News Correspondent

The men’s soccer team set a school record for conference victories in a season with its eighth triumph, a 3-2 win over Virginia Commonwealth Saturday night at Parsons Field.
The win improves Northeastern to 9-7-1 overall and 8-2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play, a strong enough mark to garner the third seed in this weekend’s CAA semifinals where the Huskies will face William & Mary.
Northeastern dominated the first half against VCU, totaling 10 shots compared to just one for the opposing Rams. Just five minutes into the contest, freshman forward Don Anding ripped his sixth goal of the season past VCU goalkeeper Gabriel Rodriguez on one-touch assists from senior midfielder Lars Okland (third assist of the season) and sophomore forward Mike Kennedy (fifth assist). The Huskies’ defense from Okland and fellow midfielders junior captain Matt Sanford and junior Santiago Bedoya to halt the Rams’ futile attack, limiting VCU to zero recorded shots on goal and zero corner kicks in the opening frame.
The Huskies came out strong early in the second half against new VCU goalkeeper Jackson Van Arsdale as both juniors forward Nick Leuders and midfielder Santiago Bedoya nearly notched goals on separate shot attempts. Leuders received redemption nine minutes into the half with his fifth goal of the season on a give-and-go feed from Anding that found the right edge of the net.
‘Nick has more ability in his left toe than most players have and we always want to get his ability out,’ Northeastern head coach Brian Ainscough said. ‘You saw tonight what he can do in 90 minutes. [Freshman midfielder] Andre [Ciliotta] was hurt so he played behind the two forwards and looked like he played there his entire life. Nick sets the tempo for competition for spots. A lot of kids are stepping up for us and it bodes well for the tournament and the future.’
VCU sliced the lead to a single goal twice in the second half scoring a pair of goals on Huskies’ freshman goalkeeper Michael Gallagher, who replaced starter senior Scott Partridge midway through the second half. Just past the 77th minute Philipp Daldrup got VCU on the board with his fourth score of the season and, following a Huskies goal from sophomore Josh Semerene on an assist from freshman Josh Danesh, VCU’s Carlos Piscado notched his fourth of the season in the final two minutes of the contest.
Four seniors played their last regular season game for Northeastern Saturday night:’ Lars Okland (captain), Matthew Laning, Scott Partridge and Konrad Stefanek. Senior Brendan Ennis red-shirted this year and will play in 2010. All four were honored in a short pre-game ceremony prior to the game and coach Ainscough made it clear how much these four individuals have meant to the program the last four seasons.
‘They’ve all done a fabulous job,’ Ainscough said. ‘The seniors bought into the coaching staff when we were 3-9-6 in my first year at Northeastern. Since they’ve arrived we’ve been in the playoffs the last four years in the CAA and I don’t know how many other teams have done that. Hopefully this time we can take it to the next step and make the NCAA tournament.’
The Huskies’ first step toward that goal is a CAA semifinal match against William & Mary Friday at 5 p.m., at the home field of top-seed UNC Wilmington. Northeastern fell 2-1 on the road to the Tribe in their only meeting Oct. 31.
‘Both of our losses in conference were by one goal on the road and both times we came away thinking we were very good,’ Ainscough said. ‘William & Mary will be a tough opponent, but we think with the four teams making the tournament we have as good of a chance as anyone. Our goal now is to make the NCAA Tournament.’