MEN’S SOCCER

The HU men’s soccer team took care of business Saturday afternoon at King Stadium by notching a 3-1 win over Goshen (2-12-3, 2-6-1). Not only was it a great way to celebrate Senior Day, it also wrapped up the regular season on a  high note.

The Foresters (12-5-1) finish league play with a 5-3-1 record to slide in as the No. 4 seed in the Crossroads League tournament. As the fourth seed, HU will host #5 Taylor on Saturday. Lawson and crew will look to avenge a 3-0 loss they suffered to the Trojans in the regular season.

Three different Foresters found back netting to secure today’s win. Edoardo Moretti  scored HU’s first goal when ran up on a spill by the Goshen keeper after a hard strike by Pablo Garcia in the 27th minute of play.

Higor Barbieri then upped the lead to 2-0 two minutes into the second frame when he one-touch flicked a ball that Tiago Costa served into the box on a freekick. The Maple Leafs kept things interesting by scoring midway through the half, but Joao Ratinho made sure his team secured the win by scoring in the final minute on a breakaway to make for the 3-1 final.

Goshen ended up outshooting the Foresters 18-12 which also included getting the nod in shots on goal 12-9. Pedro Moreira came up with nine saves to earn the win in frame.

“There were moments in the game today where we were on top of things but there were also pockets where we had to have a bend don’t break mentality,” noted Coach Russ Lawson. “We got a fantastic effort from Pedro defensively – especially near the end of the game when Goshen was pressing us hard.

“Offensively, whenever you score three goals in a conference game, that’s exciting. Overall, this was a fantastic result and finish to our conference season. I’m excited for the boys. They’ve earned it.”

First round of the tourney is slated for Saturday with kick-off to be determined.