MEN’S SOCCER

Winning on the road in the Crossroads League is never any easy feat especially against one of the nation’s best, but that’s exactly what the Huntington men’s soccer team did Saturday afternoon at the Indiana Invaders Soccer Complex when they picked off #3 Bethel, the reigning national champs, 3-2.

With this win, HU improves to 8-2-1 overall, 2-0 in conference play. For Bethel, it’s their first loss of the year as they drop to 8-1-2 which includes a 1-1 league record.

The program’s last win of this magnitude dates back to November 17, 2019, when the Foresters outlasted Spring Arbor, ranked 6th nationally at the time, 1-0, in the finals of the Crossroads League tourney to not only be deemed the conference champions but also punch their ticket to NAIA Nationals.

Cluster scoring characterized the afternoon as the two teams battled to show each other up. The CL showdown featured two of the league’s top three scorers. Sam Dolobaipu, the CL’s third leading goal scorer with ten, struck first in the 12th minute. Piero Sabroso, the league’s top scorer, countered less than four minutes later to pull things even at 1-1 less than 16 minutes into the game.

An own goal at the 28:56 mark sent Huntington into intermission enjoying a 2-1 advantage. A Dolobaipu-assisted goal by Joao Ratinho in the 61st minute that was seemingly cushioning the upset turned into the game-winner four minutes later when Sabroso netted his second goal of the afternoon.

The final 25 minutes saw the Pilots generate four shots on goal to HU’s one with both keepers coming up with the necessary saves down the stretch to make for the 3-2 final. When all was said and done, the guests never trailed with Dan Pellegrine logging five saves between the pipes to preserve the huge upset.

Huntington returns to King Stadium on Wednesday to host Saint Francis at 7:00 p.m.