MEN’S SOCCER

Playing its second straight Top 15 team, the Huntington men’s soccer team (1-1-1) was on the short end of a 2-0 decision against #4 Madonna (2-0) Wednesday afternoon at the Madonna Athletic Complex. On Saturday, the Foresters finished in a 1-1 stalemate against #12 Georgia Gwinnett.

Aside from an eight-minute spell early in the contest, it was an evenly matched game. Unfortunately, the Foresters gave up both goals in that span to chase the game the rest of the afternoon. Breno Stapcinskas found back netting both times for the Crusaders.

“We gave up the first goal on a cheap restart to go down 1-0 and then we didn’t handle a loose ball at the top of the box and they punished us again,” said Coach Lawson. “You can’t give the No. 4 team in the country glorious opportunities without expecting to get stung.”

When all the dust settled, both teams finished with eight shots on goal with the Foresters generating 12 shots to MU’s 11. Corner kicks favored Madonna 4-3. Gabe Greenfield took the loss in net for HU, giving up both goals while collecting six saves.

Given the early deficit, Coach Lawson was pleased with how his team bounced back. “I thought we had a good response after going down early. Most of the game was played in the middle of the park.

“We showed well in terms of taking away their threats and building out of our back into the middle third, we just lacked the quality in the attacking third. We must be better. And we will be.”

The Foresters return to King Stadium on Wednesday to host Indiana Tech at 5:00 p.m.