Foresters take it to Manchester

HUNTINGTON, Ind. - The Huntington men's soccer team (7-2) wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 7-0 thrashing of Manchester Wednesday afternoon at King Stadium. With today's win, the Foresters have strung together four straight Ws in convincing fashion by outscoring their opponents 12-1.

Against the Spartans, HU took control of the contest within the first five minutes and never looked back, scoring five times in the first half before finding back netting twice more in the final 15 minutes of play.

Higor Barbieri and Joao Ratinho spearheaded HU's offense. The pair each scored twice and assisted another. It brings both their season totals to seven goals and an assist for 15 points each.

Tiago Costa scored his fourth goal of the season midway through the first period while Robert Nabulere scored right before halftime. Alex Ohonovskyi also got in on the action to account for one of the second half goals. For Nabulere and Ohonovskyi, it was their first goal in green and white.

Shots were a lopsided 24-6 in favor of the hosts as were shots on goal, 16-2. HU finished with seven corner kicks to MU's one.

"I was pleased with our approach today," said Coach Russ Lawson. "We were intentional in doing the little things well and getting off on the right foot. By scoring in the first five minutes, we really put Manchester on their heels and then were able to keep possession throughout."

"I feel like we've been able to come together these last few games and answer a lot of questions. We're taking good momentum into our conference season."

The Foresters open up league play by hosting Spring Arbor on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 125 NAIA All-America honors and 449 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Reportranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.