MEN’S SOCCER

The HU men’s soccer team cruised to a 4-1 win over Mount Vernon Saturday afternoon at King Stadium for their first conference victory. The Foresters’ record now stands at 8-4 which includes a 1-2 record in league play.

The W is Huntington’s four consecutive over the Cougars. During this win streak, HU has given up just two goals to MVNU.

It didn’t take long for HU to get on the board and take control of the match. Eight minutes in, Costa crossed a ball into the box to the foot of Pablo Garcia for a one-touch tap-in that snuck into the bottom left corner of the net.

With six ticks left in the half, Costa sent a free ball up and over a wall of MVNU defenders into the upper right corner to send his team into break up 2-0. It was a big day for Costa as he was at it again in the 67th minute, this time finding back netting by way of a penalty kick.

Just over a minute after Costa’s PK, Joao Ratinho stripped the ball from a Cougar defender to find only the keeper in front of him for an easy finish. It was a lot of action in a short period of time as two minutes later MVNU finally got one back on a PK after HU was called for a hand ball in the box.

Costa finished with two goals and an assist to lead an efficient Forester offense that saw nine of their ten shots on target. Pedro Moreira finished with six saves to earn the win in frame.

“This was a fantastic result and bounce back from our first two conference games,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “Scoring the first goal always changes the complexion of the game. Defensively we had our hands full, but I thought we did a great job of staying organized. And obviously Tiago had a great day for us on the offensive end with his two goals and an assist.”

HU has a week’s break before heading to #7 Grace next Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. game under the lights.