MEN’S SOCCER

The top-seeded HU men’s soccer team is moving on the semifinals of the Crossroads League tournament after disposing of 8th-seeded Saint Francis 3-0 in quarterfinal action Wednesday night at King Stadium.

After playing to a 0-0 stalemate through the opening 45 minutes, the Foresters dominated the second half to continue their bid for a tourney championship while bringing to a close the Cougars’ season. It took the hosts less than a minute into the second frame to put themselves in the driver’s seat.

After missing out on a golden opportunity seconds before intermission, Abraham Abdoul Kadri righted his wrong 45 seconds into the second period when he deflected the USF keeper’s attempt to clear a ball and found himself and the ball in front of an open net for an easy tap-in.

Huntington controlled the middle of the park for most of the half after that with the payoff coming on a give and go between Joah Ratinho and Sam Dolobaipu with Dolobaipu delivering a missile that bounced off the crossbar straight into goal with just over nine minutes remaining.

The final blow came four minutes later when Ratinho found Dilesh Patel who juked a defender in the box and sent a screamer far post for the exclamation point on a dominate win.

The shutout is Huntington’s eighth of the year. Dan Pellegrine notched one save in net to earn the clean sheet. With this win, the Foresters improve to 13-4-2 on the year. Next up is a matchup at King Stadium against 4th-seeded Marian on Saturday with kick-off to be determined.