MEN’S SOCCER

The HU men’s soccer team’s 1-1 draw with Roosevelt Saturday afternoon was a good reminder to never give up. With 11 seconds remaining, Sam Dolobaipu snuck behind the defense and riffled a shot back netting on a perfectly placed pass from Owen Lieland to force the tie.

It stunned a Laker squad that had held the lead for nearly 60 minutes. RU’s goal came with 15 minutes left in the first half. It was their seventh shot of the afternoon. The guests managed just two shots after that. At the other end of the field, Lawson’s crew generated seven shots on the day with all but one on target.

With no overtime in regular season play, the match sent both teams home on opening day with a 0-0-1 record. During his 90 minutes in net, Dan Pellegrine collected four saves.

“I’m really proud of the boys for staying with it and fighting until the very end,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “Getting the reward of scoring with 11 seconds remaining is exciting and something we can build on.

“We weren’t near our best today. I thought there were some things in our build up play in the middle of the park that needs work. But against a strong side, I thought this was a decent result and one that will springboard us to Wednesday’s match with Saint Xavier.”

The only other time these two squads have squared off dates back to 2012 with the same result, a 1-1 tie. Huntington is back in action Wednesday to host the Saints at 7:00 p.m. With lights just installed this summer, it’ll mark the first time in program history the Foresters will play under the lights on their home turf.