MEN’S SOCCER

The #RV Pilots of Bethel University played spoiler to the HU men’s soccer team’s Senior Day Saturday afternoon at King Stadium by handing the hosts a 2-1 loss.

The win preserves BU’s top spot in the conference while the Foresters (8-6-2, 3-2-2) drop into a tie for fourth with Indiana Wesleyan. Two regular season matches remain before the Crossroads League Tournament.

Eric Ocock buried a penalty kick to start the second half after Diego Romo was hauled down from behind on a break in the box. Unfortunately, it still made for a cat-and-mouse game as the Pilots had already scored twice within a ten-minute span in the first half forcing the visitors to play catch up all afternoon.

The Foresters generated five shots in the final 45 minutes in pursuit of the equalizer to no avail against a strong Pilot side that finished with 12 strikes in the period, 18 for the game. Bethel has won ten of their last 11 games on the way to posting a 12-4 overall record which includes a 6-1 CL record.

“Despite giving up two goals in the first 34 minutes, I thought the match was played between the 18s in the first half,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “We had our fair share of the ball, but we gave up the first goal on a corner kick and then they turned us over deep on the flank to score their second goal.

“At that point the game turned on a dime because we were on the chase the rest of the day. Bethel is a quality side so trying to catch up was an uphill battle. But I was very pleased with our fight and how we continued to pressure them until the very end.”

Gabe Greenfield finished with 11 saves in goal for the Foresters. HU closes out the regular season on the road by playing at Saint Francis on Wednesday and Goshen on Saturday.