UMass picks the right time

Wins such as the 28-24 victory UMass grinded out against Northeastern yesterday at Parsons Field remind you that momentum is just a term for which team got the last break.

Between the 17 combined penalties, five combined fumbles, 26 third-down attempts, and four tries on fourth down, momentum was fickle all day. The pass-interference calls that had the Minutemen throwing their hands up in frustration were much like the calls that brought many of their possessions back from the dead. And the drives that Northeastern seemed to assemble 12 plays at a time in the first half were like the time-consuming sequences UMass used to drain the life out of the Huskies in the second.

And in the end, the fumbles that slipped away from the Minutemen at the worst times, slipped out of the Huskies' hands, only when NU turned the ball over there wasn't enough time remaining to catch a break.

"When you go back and forth where you're going to be in a fight you've got to be ready for momentum switches," said UMass coach Don Brown. "Momentum is what causes a team to win a game or lose a game."

UMass (4-2, 2-1 Colonial) had all of it when it mattered, watching quarterback Liam Coen complete 20 of 30 passes for 265 yards and getting 175 rushing yards and a touchdown from Tony Nelson, offsetting a career-high 169-yard performance from Northeastern's Alex Broomfield.

"They made it difficult for us," said Brown. "It was not an easy day. But we had to step up at the end of the football game, and the defense with big stops kind of sealed the deal for us."

After chipping away at the Huskies' defense all afternoon, Nelson broke loose for a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter, which set up a 3-yard score by Coen two plays later, giving the Minutemen a 28-24 lead with 6:42 remaining.

"I said, 'I know we were going to break one eventually,' " Nelson said. "As soon as I broke that one long one, it was over."

It wasn't.

With the ball in Nelson's hands again and UMass threatening to widen its lead later in the fourth quarter, Northeastern linebacker Phil Higgins came from behind and popped the ball loose, and defensive back Cord Parks recovered for a touchback.

"How can you fault a guy who rushes 37 times for a 170-plus?" Brown said.

The turnover gave Northeastern one last chance, and Higgins believed the momentum was in the Huskies' pocket.

"I'm thinking we're about to score," said Higgins, who had 10 tackles.

Six plays later, he watched Minuteman defensive back Jeromy Miles fall on a botched snap, coming out of the pile slightly dazed but in full control of the ball, and ultimately the game.

Part of Miles wanted to be greedy, then he realized he had the game in his hands.

"I wanted to pick it up and run with it," he said. "I said, let me be safe and secure the win."

It was the right decision in a game in which fortune flip-flopped often. When Northeastern (2-4, 1-1) looked as if it would respond to a Chris Zardas TD that put the Minutemen up, 21-17, Huskies freshman Elijah Harris let a kickoff drop in front of him, allowing UMass to recover.

"I know that's a young player, but young players have to grow up," said NU coach Rocky Hager. "It's the sixth game, for Pete's sake."

Sophomore cornerback Nate Thellen cleaned it up a couple of plays later, picking off Coen in the end zone.

The loss doesn't mean Hager wasn't happy with the way his team played against a UMass team that is ranked 13th in the nation. It just means there's still progress to be made.

Brown, meanwhile, was happy with his team's ability to respond when it needed to.

"I just thought we played with great energy and effort in the second half," he said. "We just kind of kept fighting, kept battling."