Several of the Northeastern University men’s and women’s varsity athletics teams kicked their seasons into high-gear this weekend, knocking off ranked opponents and flexing their scoring touch in tournaments around the country. The women’s volleyball team, for example, collected its second-consecutive Beanpot Classic tournament; the men’s soccer team won a thrilling double-overtime season opener; and the men’s basketball team concluded a strong exhibition tour in Canada.

The volleyball team (3-0) got its season off to a hot start by winning all three Beanpot Classic games, including a victory over defending Northeast Conference champions Sacred Heart, 3-1, on Saturday evening at Solomon Court. The Huskies beat Alabama, 3-2, in its first game of the tournament Friday night, and followed up the win by edging Holy Cross, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon.

The men’s soccer (1-0) team also kicked off the season in thrilling fashion, dispatching Providence, 2-1, at Parsons Field on Friday night. Trailing 1-0 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, junior defenseman Conner Alexander gathered a loose ball, sprinted down the left side and fired a shot past the goalie to force overtime. With 30 seconds remaining in double overtime, junior midfielder Laurence Braude collected a loose ball on the left side, ran into the box and beat the goalie for his third career game-winning goal, lifting the Huskies over the Friars.

“It feels unbelievable,” said head coach Brian Ainscough of the win. “For me and the boys, we’ve lost a lot of those games and left a lot of points on the table in the past, so this gives them a lot of confidence. The players played very well and we are ecstatic to get the win.”

The men’s basketball team finished its eight-day, seven-game Canadian tour with an impressive 105-84 win over Queen’s University on Friday afternoon. The Huskies engineered a 40-9 run midway through the first half to erase a 14-point deficit and seize control of the game.

The Huskies went 6-1 on the exhibition tour, also making stops in Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Kingston and featuring wins over Bishop’s, Laval, McGill, Ottawa, Laurentian and Queen’s. The men’s basketball regular season opens on Nov. 9 at rival Boston University.

While the basketball team was racking up wins north of the border, the women’s field hockey team (2-0) was in Kentucky, beating two top-25 ranked opponents to win the Sherrill Brakmeier Classic. On Friday night, the team opened its 2012 campaign by taking down No. 23 Louisville, 3-2, in a defensive struggle that featured goals from Crystal Poland, Lindsay Bennett and Deirdre Duke. On Sunday afternoon, the Huskies defeated No. 20 Northwestern, 2-1, on the strength of two Poland strikes.

The women’s soccer team (0-3) also played out-of-state games last weekend, falling in both of its matches in Ohio, including a heart-breaking double-overtime 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati on Sunday. The team lost to Ohio State 3-0 on Friday.

Content from gonu.com was used in this story.