Following a successful 11-6-2 campaign a year ago, first-year head coach Rich Weinrebe and the Huskies will look to build upon last season’s success with an established and experienced roster in 2022. Here’s a look at the key matchups and dates on the Huskies’ schedule this season.
Nonconference games
For his first season in charge of the Huskies, Weinrebe will play some of the top competition that New England has to offer. Easily the most notable opponent is Weinrebe’s former team, New Hampshire, which comes into the year ranked No. 9 nationally and made it to the NCAA tournament last year with an at-large bid. The Wildcats are expected to burn through America East this year, and will give the Huskies quite the challenge Oct. 11.
Other important matchups of the nonconference season include a handful of crosstown rivals and some familiar faces. The season starts off Aug. 25 with a match at home against UMass and is followed up four days later with a short trip out of the city to face off with Boston College, which won last year’s matchup 2-1.
The September nonconference slate is highlighted by a match with Harvard at home on the 13th. The Crimson have turned out impressive performances on the pitch and will be quite the challenge for a Huskies squad that last beat them in 2019.
Following a pair of games on the road against UNH and Charleston, Northeastern closes their non-CAA slate at home on Oct. 18, where the Huskies look to avenge their 3-1 loss against Boston University from last season in a rivalry matchup.
Conference games
The CAA schedule for Northeastern opens a week earlier than last year, with the Huskies getting things started in Elon Sept. 3 against a Phoenix team that knocked them out of the CAA tournament with a 1-0 victory in the opening round last year. Elon has risen from the ashes over the last two seasons after sitting in the lower third of the conference for most of the last decade.
The first home conference game for the Huskies takes place the following week when the Drexel Dragons come to town. While Drexel was a solid middle of the pack team last season, they are without four of their stalwart players this year, including last year’s CAA Player of the Year Chris Donovan who is taking his offensive talents to the MLS.
Following their standoff with the Dragons, the Huskies make their way to Long Island Sept. 17 to take on the reigning CAA champions. Hofstra is coming off a season in which they made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament, and most of their squad is returning. They look to be the toughest competition the Huskies will face in the conference this season. Northeastern, however, took their last matchup, winning 2-1 at the beginning of last season.
Two of the next three CAA games for the Huskies will come against new additions to the conference. On Sept. 24, the Huskies will return to Long Island to face off with the Stony Brook Seawolves for the first time since 2014. They will take on the Monmouth Hawks at home Oct. 8 in their first ever matchup.
The last three CAA games shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for the Huskies as they take on two of the conference’s bottom teams on the road, Charleston and Delaware. Northeastern’s final regular season game at Parsons will be Oct. 22 when they take on a middle of the pack William & Mary squad who is trying to finally break through the top tier of CAA teams.
Weinrebe’s first schedule as head coach of the Huskies will be quite the challenge, but his experience with top competition as an assistant at UNH and the depth of his Northeastern squad should have them in a strong table position by season’s end.