MEN’S SOCCER

On the road for the first time this season, the HU men’s soccer team returned to campus with a 4-0 win over Siena Heights Saturday night at O’Laughlin Stadium. Four out of the last five times these two squads have clashed, the Foresters have come out on top which includes last year’s 5-2 decision over the Saints.

Coach Potter’s crew was relentless right out of the gate to establish themselves as the aggressors. The guests fired off 15 shots, with their 14th finding back netting, before SHU finally mustered their first shot just shy of halftime.

With nine minutes left in the half, Joao Ratinho was at the right place at the right time. The senior forward pounced on Dilesh Patel’s blast that rebounded off the SHU keeper to score his second goal of the season, the 23rd of his career, for a 1-0 advantage.

Huntington’s pressure took its toll on the Saints in the final 45 minutes. Just over six minutes into the period, Ryo Aihara, after intercepting a pass inside the box from a goal kick, slotted the keeper to make it a 2-0 gap. The difference stood until the final two minutes when the Foresters tacked on two more goals for the statement win.

Patel made HU’s third goal look simple. After tracking down a boot by keeper Dan Pellegrine at midfield, he dribbled through a few defenders before calmly slipping a pass to a wide open Abraham Abdoul Kadri for the easy tap in. Sam Dolobaipu also wanted in on the scoring fest and did so about 45 seconds later to make for the 4-0 final. It’s his third goal in as many games.

When all was said and done, HU claimed the shutout having dominated their hosts in shots taken 23-3. Pellegrine earned his second clean sheet of the season, picking up two saves during his 90 minutes between the posts.

With tonight’s win, the Foresters improve to 2-1. HU is on the road again Wednesday for a 4:00 p.m. matchup with Michigan-Dearborn.