WOMEN’S SOCCER

Despite outshooting the host Pilots and generating heavy second-half pressure, the Huntington women’s soccer team saw its two-game winning streak halted Saturday evening in a 2-1 Crossroads League defeat to Bethel at Morey Field.

Bethel entered its Senior Night contest looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats, while Huntington arrived riding the momentum of consecutive league victories. The setback drops the Foresters to 7-5-1 overall and 2-5-0 in Crossroads League play (6 points). Bethel improves to 9-5-2 on the season and 4-3-0 in conference action.

Bethel opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Annalise Jung capitalized on an unassisted opportunity at the 9:02 mark to put the Pilots ahead 1-0.

Huntington responded just over 11 minutes later. Senior defender Maria Paladino delivered a precise cross to the right side of the penalty area, finding freshman midfielder Payton Toth. Toth drove a far-post finish past Bethel goalkeeper Isabella Ferreira at 20:14 to level the contest at 1-1. The strike marked Toth’s third consecutive match with a goal and her ninth tally of her rookie campaign, trailing only teammate Sophie Shepherd (10) for the team lead.

The Pilots regained the lead in the 33rd minute. Ashley Lopez Cruz fed Thalyta Martins, who beat the Forester defense at 32:18 to restore a 2-1 Bethel advantage that would hold into halftime.

Huntington dictated tempo throughout the final 45 minutes, unleashing nine second-half shots while pressing for the equalizer. The Foresters created multiple quality looks down the stretch, including attempts on frame from Jianna Simons, Sophie Shepherd and Anastasiia Edemskaia, as well as a 78th-minute shot by Toth that was turned aside. Jung came up with a critical defensive save on a Shepherd strike in the 85th minute, and Ferreira preserved the win with a stoppage-time save against Edemskaia in the waning seconds.

Junior goalkeeper Macie Sanders went the full 90 minutes in net for Huntington, turning aside two of the four shots on goal she faced. Ferreira stopped four of the five shots on target she faced for Bethel, alongside Jung’s team defensive save.

Huntington finished the evening outshooting Bethel 14-8 overall (6-4 in shots on goal), while corner kicks were tied at 4-4.

Up Next
The Foresters return to Crossroads League action on Saturday in Upland to take on Taylor at 1:00 p.m.