MEN’S SOCCER

The #RV Huntington men’s soccer team ran out of time Wednesday afternoon at King Stadium to succumb to #9 Spring Arbor 2-1 in the final regular season match of Crossroads League play.

With this loss, the Foresters land at the No. 2 spot in the final CL standings while the win gives the Cougars (13-1-2, 8-0-1) sole ownership of the league’s regular season title and the top seed in postseason.

It was a rough start for the hosts as they gave up both goals in the opening ten minutes before settling in for a dog fight to get back in it. With just over four minutes left in the first period, in a scramble off a corner, Luke Unger knocked one in to put his team back in the mix. The goal was the senior’s sixth of the season, the 13th of his career.

The Foresters spilled momentum into the second half where they kept SAU on their heels most of the way. Huntington outshot the Cougars 10-4 in the final 45 minutes, with seven of those shots on target. While Lawson’s crew knocked on danger’s door several times, no one answered to deny the hosts any sort of heroic ending.

Gabe Greenfield took the loss between the posts. He finished the afternoon with five saves.

“I’m proud of how the boys responded after a poor start,” said Coach Lawson. “I felt like we raised our compete level which allowed us to generate more chances and get on the ball more. Spring Arbor is a quality side and very experienced, so to allow them to jump out to a lead made it even a bigger mountain for us to climb.

“With that being said, the amount of chances we created, we needed to be more clinical in the box and we just weren’t. But with the spirit, the fight and the togetherness of this team, I have no doubt the boys will be ready for our first round of the tourney. “

Opening day of the conference tournament is slated for November 2. The Foresters (12-4-2, 6-2-1), seeded second, will host 7th-seeded Saint Francis at 2:00 p.m.