MEN’S SOCCER

The HU men’s soccer team went off in the second half to pick off #15 Indiana Wesleyan (12-2-3, 4-1-3) on the road 4-3 Wednesday night. With this upset, the Foresters move to 6-7-4 overall which includes a 3-4-1 CL record. The win also solidifies a finish no lower than sixth in the league standings with one regular season game to go.

Over the last decade, HU has enjoyed a 6-2-4 record over the Wildcats which includes a current two-game win streak.

Down 2-0 by the start of the second half, Higor Barbieri started Huntington’s comeback with a PK in the 54th minute. After that it was the Sam Dolobaipu show. The freshman midfielder scored twice within a 30-second span to give his team a 3-2 advantage with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Roberto Sanchez’s equalizer in the 79th minute pulled things even at 3-3 before Dolobaipu was back at it with less than five minutes remaining. After tracking down a ball served into the box by Owen Lieland from midfield, he cashed in on back netting after his first shot rebounded off the keeper for the game-winner.

Not only did Dolobaipu notch a rare hat trick, he did so within a 20-minute window.

Also notable was the play of keeper Paul Socha. A midseason addition to the Forester roster, he earned a last minute start for the Foresters on this given night. During his 90 minutes in net, he snagged three saves for the win.

Both teams finished with six shots on frame with IWU taking one more shot than HU, 12-11, while also dominating the corner kick battle 12-1.

“The boys competed well and were tremendous working for each other against a dangerous team,” said Coach Russ Lawson. “There were so many bright spots tonight from Socha getting the emergency start in goal to Sam’s hat trick – this was a great night for us!”

The Foresters wrap up the regular season on Saturday with a home contest against Marian at 7:00 p.m.