BOSTON – After leading the Huskies to their most successful season in program history, Northeastern men's soccer head coach Brian Ainscough earned an accolade of his own on Wednesday. The eighth-year head coach was named the NSCAA Division I South Atlantic regional Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

Ainscough, along with the guidance of assistants Adam Pfeifer, Aidan Byrne and Ben Graham, helped Northeastern to a 14-3-4 record in 2012, setting records for most victories and fewest losses in the process. During the season, the Huskies also set program records for longest winning streak (12) and tied the team record for longest winning streak (six).

The 2012 Huskies captured the program's first-ever CAA Tournament title with a thrilling 1-0 win against Hofstra, propelling Northeastern into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. During the conference tournament, Ainscough was named the CAA Co-Coach of the Year, the first for a Husky head coach since 2002. NU was also awarded with league Player of the Year (Don Anding), Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Simon Cox), and Tournament's Most Outstanding Player (Anding) honors, in addition to six All-Conference and four All-Tournament nods.

After drawing Boston College for an NCAA first round matchup at Parsons Field, NU continued its magical season with another 1-0 win, marking Ainscough's 150th career victory, and setting up a date at Connecticut, the tournament's No. 4 seed overall. Despite going toe-to-toe with one of the nation's top squads, UConn advanced with a 1-0 win, however, ending NU's historic season.

At the height of the team's 12-match unbeaten streak, NU also earned the program's first-ever national ranking on Oct. 30, coming in at No. 25 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's National Poll.

NU finished the 2012 season unbeaten at home for the second straight year, and extended its unbeaten streak at Parsons Field to 16 games (15-0-1), and has not lost at home since Nov. 6, 2010.

As a regional award winner, Ainscough is now eligible for selection as the Division I national coach of the year, which will be announced during the NSCAA 2013 National Convention & Awards Banquet in Indianapolis from Jan. 16-20.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13