Baltimore, MD - Northeastern University (10-7-3) got an early goal from midfielder Tom Heimreid and the fifth-seeded Huskies held off #1 UMBC (10-3-5), 1-0, in the America East Conference semi-finals held at UMBC Soccer Stadium.
Northeastern will advance to face #2 Binghamton, a 1-0 winner over Hartford, in Binghamton, New York next Sunday in the championship game.
NU got the game's lone goal at the 10:20 mark, when Heimreid converted a corner kick from senior forward Atha Kirkopoulos. Heimreid booted Kirkopoulos' kick into the upper right corner of the net from the seven yard line. It was the sophomore's first goal of the season.
The Retrievers put on furious pressure in the second half, outshooting NU, 8-3, in the final 45 minutes, but could not beat Huskie netminder Sergio Saccoccio (4 saves). Freshman midfielder Kevin Mezzadra missed just wide left early in the half, and junior forward Derek McElligott did the same with just under eight minutes to play.
UMBC outshot NU, 11-5, for the game, and Retriever goalkeeper Andy Marchica made two saves for host side. The Retrievers are 0-3-2 this season when allowing the first goal and trailing at halftime.
