Men's Soccer Preview: Northeastern

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware men's soccer team will play their final regular season game of the season when they host Northeastern on Saturday at 4:00 with a chance to clinch a spot in the CAA Conference Tournament.

Clinching Scenarios
There are two scenarios in which Delaware can clinch a spot in the CAA Tournament:

Delaware must defeat Northeastern (4:00 start)
Monmouth must defeat William & Mary (4:00 start)

Delaware must defeat Northeastern (4:00 start)
Monmouth and William & Mary play to a draw (4:00 start)
UNCW must defeat Elon (7:00)

What You Need to Know:

Delaware opened its season with a 2-0 win over Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, August 25, giving head coach Tommy McMenemy his first career victory. The Blue Hens also defeated George Washington on Sept. 13, Stony Brook on Oct. 15, with both wins featuring two goals by Sam Donnellan, and Monmouth on Oct. 22. Delaware played Saint Joseph's to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 6 and UNCW to a 2-2 draw on Sept. 24.
Donnellan was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Sept. 19, Sept. 26, and Oct. 17. He is the only CAA freshman to win multiple Rookie of the Week honors so far this season, and was the first Delaware player to receive back-to-back Rookie of the Weeks since Roberto Giménez in September 2011 and the first with three Rookie of the Week honors in a season since Giménez in 2011.
Vik was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 24 after he shut out Monmouth. He became the first Delaware player to be named CAA Defensive Player of the Week since Renan Thomazo on March 29, 2021.
Donnellan scored eight goals in his first 14 career games, the fastest Blue Hen player to score eight career goals since former All-American Guillermo Delgado did so in his first five games. Donnellan's eight goals are the most by a Delaware freshman since Delgado had 15 in 2013, and the most by any Delaware player in a season since Delgado had 12 in 2017. He is tied for third in the CAA in goals scored, trailing Elliot Goldthorp (13) and Ryan Carmichael (nine), both of Hofstra, and tied with Chris Elliot of Charleston. Donnellan is also tied with Denis Krioutchenkov of Davidson, Ask Ekeland of Duquesne, Palmer Ault of Butler, Nikolai Rojel of Wofford, Josemir Gomez of IUPUI, Matthew Bell of Marshall, and Elliot for the most goals among Division I freshmen this season.
Orri Thorhallsson has scored four goals this season, while Seidu Shamsudeen has scored three goals, Alonso Rodriguez has scored two, and Justin Ruth and Brandon Sengphachanh have scored one goal. Thorhallsson (two), Florian Phlepsen (two), Aron Adalsteinsson (two), Liam Fuller, Jordan Miller, Alonso Rodriguez, Petros Fokas, James Watson, Charles Giordano, and Carlos Fernandez each have recorded an assist.
Adam Vik has recorded 57 saves through the first 16 career games of the season, tied for first in the CAA, including a career-high eight against Hofstra. He has recorded shutouts against Mount St. Mary's in his collegiate debut on August 25, against George Washington on Sept. 13, and against Monmouth on Oct. 24.
Delaware has nine wins against Northeastern all-time, including going 5-1-1 in their last seven games against the Huskies.

The Opponent:

Northeastern is 5-8-3 overall and 3-4-1 in the CAA on the season.
Federico Tellez and Tobias Wangerud lead Northeastern with three goals and seven points each, while Morris Matthews has three assists to lead the Huskies.
Head coach Rich Weinrebe is in his first season as a head coach. He has been a member of a coaching staff that has been named the Northeast Region Staff of the Year (2019 & 2021), the Eastern Region Staff of the Year (2017) and the America East Staff of the Year (2017, 2019, 2020 & 2021).

How to Follow: Live Stats I Live Video
Live stats and live video will be available for the match on bluehens.com.

Follow Us on Social Media: For the latest on the Delaware men's soccer program, follow the Blue Hens on Twitter @DelawareMSOC and Instagram @DelawareMSOC and like "Delaware Men's Soccer" on Facebook.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aron Adalsteinsson

Guillermo Delgado

Sam Donnellan

Carlos Fernandez

Petros Fokas

Liam Fuller

Roberto Giménez

Charles Giordano

Jordan Miller

Florian Phlepsen

Alonso Rodriguez

Justin Ruth

Brandon Sengphachanh

Seidu Shamsudeen

Renan Thomazo

Orri Thorhallsson

Adam Vik

James Watson

University of Delaware Athletics