Underpreview: Delaware vs. Northeastern

Men’s Soccer
Time: Wednesday at 3 p.m
Location: Parsons Field, Boston, Mass.


About the teams:

About Delaware: Delaware is 3-7-2 and 1-1-1 in conference play. They are coming off a 0-0 tie against No. 11 Old Dominion on Sunday. Freshman forward Joe Dipre leads Delaware with three goals. Junior forward Roberto Giménez and sophomore defender/midfielder Kyle Nuel each have two assists.


About Northeastern: The Huskies, picked to finish fifth in the conference in the preseason coaches poll, are 7-2-1. They are second in the conference with a 2-0-1 mark, behind only Drexel. They defeated James Madison 1-0 on Saturday. Senior forward Don Anding leads the team with seven goals and is tied for the Northeastern lead with two assists. He is also tied for third in the conference with 16 points.


Why the Hens can win:

While the Hens have been outscored 21-11 thus far, they have only seven fewer shots than their opponents. They just haven’t been connecting on those attempts, as evidenced by their losing record. Giménez had 10 goals last year, but he has only scored twice in 2012. His shot percentage is .059 this year versus .139 the year before. If the Hens start getting a little luckier on their shots, they could be dangerous.


Why the Hens could lose:

Anding is a talented player who can take over a contest. He scored three goals against Holy Cross and has had a point in seven of the Huskies’ 10 games. The Huskies are 10th in the conference in shots but are fifth in goals per game. On defense, they’ve given up only 10 goals in 10 games.


The numbers:

4.2: The number of shots Anding averages per game, tops in the CAA.


6: The number of assists the Hens have this year, last in the conference.


21: The number of goals Delaware has given up in 2012, last in the CAA.


The prediction:

The Hens are determined, but Northeastern is a talented team. Giménez gets his third goal, but Anding and the Huskies prove too much for the men in white and blue.


Northeastern 2
Delaware 1