Box Score  | Season Stats

PHILADELPHIA – Three first half goals, including two from CAA Player of the Year Don Anding, sparked the Northeastern men's soccer team (12-2-4) to a 5-0 victory against James Madison (9-7-3) in the CAA Semifinals on Friday night at Vidas Field.

With the win, Northeastern advances to the CAA Championship game for the third time in program history, and third time in the last five seasons. The Huskies will face the winner of the Drexel-Hofstra match, which is being played later tonight. The conference title game is slated for 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Conner Alexander (two goals) and Donovan Fayd'Herbe de Maudave also scored for the Huskies, while Oliver Blum made two saves in goal to earn his sixth shutout of the season. NU outshot the Dukes 12-11 in the match (7-2 SOG).

Northeastern dictated the pace of play from the start of the contest, outshooting the Dukes 6-2 and burying three goals to take a commanding 3-0 lead through the opening 45 minutes. The first came in the 10th minute as Fayd'Herbe de Maudave inserted the ball on a corner from the right side, where Alexander was waiting to send a header inside the left post for his third goal of the season.

The Huskies continued to pressure the ball following the Alexander tally, and Anding netted his 12th goal of the season in the 21st minute when he capitalized on a James Madison turnover in the attacking third. After a Dukes defender attempted to play the ball back to freshman goalkeeper Kyle Morton (two saves), Morton slipped on the turf, leaving the ball free for the taking. That's where Anding swiftly stepped in front of the defender, settled the ball and sent it into the goal for a two-goal Husky edge.

Anding wouldn't end there, however, as he gave NU a 3-0 cushion less than five minutes later when he corralled a long pass from Jonathan Eckford, sprinted in on goal and sent a right-footed shot into the left side of the cage for his second of the night.

The teams played a more even second half as the Dukes generated corner opportunities in an attempt to cut into the deficit. Blum and the NU back line, however, were up to the task, and limited James Madison's bids on goal.

Northeastern would go up by four in the 61st minute when Fayd'Herbe de Maudave collected his fifth goal of the season. Dante Marini began the play when he ran the ball up-field before sending a through ball to Fayd'Herbe de Maudave. The NU sophomore tri-captain would do the rest, narrowly avoiding a diving Morton before regaining possession and firing a shot into the top right corner for the score.

Alexander would make it 5-0 Huskies in the 79th minute as NU took advantage of another Duke turnover. After Morton settled the ball well above the box, he sent a low ball right onto the foot of Alexander, who fired a hard strike from midfield into the net before Morton could recover to close out the scoring.

Game Notes: Northeastern is now 4-5-2 all-time against James Madison, and 4-5 in the CAA Tournament … NU's 3-0 halftime lead was the largest advantage after 45 minutes since Nov. 3, 2002 against Binghamton, when the Huskies led 4-0 at half … Friday marks the first time since Oct. 13, 1990 that NU scored five goals in a game away from home ... Alexander scored his second goal of the year against James Madison; both have come on headers … Alexander had a career-high two goals in the match ... Anding's two first half goals moved him into a tie for second on the NU record list for goals in a season (13) and into a tie for third for points in a season (32) … NU's five goals in the match upped the Husky total to 31 for the season, their most since 2002 (42) … Northeastern is two shutouts away from tying the program record for clean sheets in a season, which was set in 2008 … NU is one victory away from tying the program record for wins in a season (13), which was set in 2001 … Fayd'Herbe de Maudave had a career-high three points (one goal, one assist).