MEN’S SOCCER

A strong second half fueled the Huntington men’s soccer team to a 4-2 win over Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at King Stadium. With this win, the Foresters move to 2-0-3 on the season.

The matchup between these two squads is the first since 2014 when the Saints blanked HU 2-0.

On this given day, Kevin Vidana proved HU’s menace. The junior forward scored both goals for the guests with the first coming within the first seven minutes of play. Despite several quality chances by Lawson and crew, the 1-0 lead stuck through the first half.

A chance to regroup served the hosts well as they came out with a vengeance after intermission. Three minutes in, Manuel Dias got his head on a ball served into the box by Dilesh Patel on a restart to even things up at 1-1.

The Foresters took advantage of another restart in the 60th minute when Sam Dolobaipu found back netting on an assist from Dias to snatch the lead at 2-1. It was a banner day for Dias as both his goal and assist were firsts for him in Forester green.  For Dolobaipu, it marked his third goal of the season.

There was still plenty of game to be played as Vidana struck again with the equalizer in the 73rd minute but HU wasted little time reclaiming the lead. Less than six minutes later, Patel slotted the keeper far post on a perfectly placed pass from Robert Nabulere for what was the game-winner.

Nabulere then put the finishing touches on the match when he scored with just under a minute remaining to solidify the win.

When all the dust settled, Dias wasn’t the only Forester to log three points on the afternoon as Patel and Nabulere followed suit by each scoring and assisting a goal.

“This was a fantastic team win which started yesterday with our preparation,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “Our guys were all in getting ready for a very good Holy Cross team.

“We had some fantastic performances today – a few really stood out. Luis Costa, when called upon, stood tall for us in goal. He made some impressive saves. Robert Nabulere came off the bench for a goal and an assist. Manuel Dias also came off the bench for a goal and an assist and he really locked down that left side for us.”

Lawson went on to praise the play of Dilesh Patel. “He was our man of the match. He was able to get on the ball and calm the tempo down a little bit and his goal was a piece of brilliance. I’m proud of the boys and now we will get some rest and start preparing for a very talented Cumberlands team.

The Foresters are in Kentucky on Tuesday to take on the Patriots at 6:00 p.m.