WOMEN’S SOCCER

Saturday afternoon was the epitome of sheer grit and determination by the HU women’s soccer team in a game that ended in a 2-2 deadlock with Anderson (2-1-2) at King Stadium.

After the Ravens took a 2-1 advantage with eight minutes remaining, Kalaina Stephens, well outside the penalty box, buried a shot back netting to draw Huntington even with their guests. It’s the Foresters’ first tie of the season as they move to 2-6-1.

Huntington struck first in the 39th minute when Janae Good, with her second goal in as many games, ripped a shot that slipped through the hands of the Raven keeper to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. It looked like the Foresters would head into intermission with their advantage intact, but AU kept the pressure on to draw a foul in the box with :26 ticks remaining in the half to setup the equalizer by way of Lauren Brown’s PK.

All was quiet after that until the flurry of activity that was the final ten minutes. It wasn’t just the score that signified how evenly played the match was as each team fired off 15 shots with HU owning a slight 11-10 advantage in shots on frame.

Ireland Aerni had a great day between the posts to finish with eight saves.

“Both teams played hard with the outcome justified,” said Coach David Lewis. “I’m proud of our team’s resilience to keep playing when Anderson scored late. This was an overall good team effort in hot conditions.”

The Foresters now turn their attention to Crossroads League action. Lewis and crew have a tall order right out of the gate as they travel to #2 Spring Arbor next Saturday for their league opener at 7:00 p.m.