MEN’S SOCCER

A PK proved the only separation between the HU men’s soccer team and Spring Arbor (3-5-1, 0-1) Saturday evening at Cougar Soccer Complex. The 17th minute of play saw Noah Stanford bury a penalty kick after drawing a foul off the ball in the box on a corner kick to give the visitors a 1-0 victory on opening day of league play.

The battle between these two squads is well-documented as of late. Since 2018, the Foresters have posted a 3-4 record against their CL foes to the north with today’s W snapping a two-game win streak the Cougars were riding.

The final stats confirmed that offense was at a premium on this given night. The contest featured only seven shots on frame between the two teams with SAU holding the slight edge at 4-3 while the Foresters logged two more overall shots at 9-7. Stanford’s game-winner is his third goal of the season, the eighth of his career.

Lawson and crew have piled up five clean sheets this fall with Gabe Greenfield spearheading the effort in frame to claim the shutout each time.

“This was a fantastic way to start our conference season,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “The boys came with tremendous grit and organization tonight to get the victory. While we may not have had the majority of possession, I thought this was a well-deserved win on the road for us which in this league is never easy to do.”

Huntington (6-4, 1-0) returns to King Stadium on Wednesday to host Taylor at 4:00 p.m.