MEN’S SOCCER

The Forester men’s soccer team ran into a potent second-half attack Saturday night at Bishop John M. D’Arcy Stadium, falling 5-1 to the Cougars of Saint Francis in Crossroads League action.

The Cougars (8-4-2, 3-1-1 CL) broke open a tight contest with three goals in an eight-minute span midway through the second half to secure the league victory.

Saint Francis struck first in the 14th minute when Nicolás Balbin finished an Abdul Manaf Annor assist. Despite being outshot in the opening 45 minutes, the Foresters (3-6-2, 1-2-2 CL) remained within striking distance, heading into the locker room trailing just 1-0.

The Cougars extended their lead in the 55th minute with Balbin’s second goal of the night, followed by strikes from Rezik Dahbor in the 61st minute and Juan Zapata in the 63rd minute to push the margin to 4-0.

Huntington finally broke through in the 81st minute off a set piece. Freshman Josh Carter served a well-placed free kick into the box, where junior midfielder Lance Ballinger out-jumped the crowd and headed the ball into the back of the net. The tally was the first collegiate goal of Ballinger’s career.

Saint Francis added a final goal in the 88th minute from Rodrigo Santos to round out the scoring.

For the match, Saint Francis held a 13-5 advantage in total shots, including an 11-3 margin in shots on goal.

Junior goalkeeper Zane Hydock took the loss for Huntington, recording five saves while allowing four goals across 79:38 of action. Freshman keeper Adrian Camarena closed out the final 10:22 in net, stopping one of the two shots on goal he faced while allowing one tally.

Up Next
Huntington continues Crossroads League road play on Wednesday by traveling to Goshen for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.