Early Flurry Sinks HU in Crossroads Clash with USF

HUNTINGTON, Ind. - The HU men's soccer team fell 4-1 to Saint Francis Saturday afternoon at King Stadium, marking the Cougars' first win over HU since 2020.

The match got off to a lightning-fast start, with all three of the game's opening goals coming in a ten-minute flurry. USF struck first just six minutes in off a corner kick that found Christian Walter for the early advantage. Huntington answered four minutes later on a beautifully executed set piece. Douglas Appiah Kubi served a corner into the box where Kovan Drenth headed it toward Thiago Fernando, who buried a one-touch rocket into the back of the net to even things at 1-1.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Walter struck again in the 17th minute to reclaim the lead for Saint Francis. The Foresters nearly drew even late in the half, rattling two shots off the crossbar before heading into the break trailing 2-1.

After intermission, the Cougars padded their lead with goals from Henning Bundschuh in the 48th minute and Leander Wunder in the 85th to put the match out of reach. Despite generating 14 shots and several close chances, HU couldn't match USF's offensive outburst.

With the loss, Huntington drops to 2-7-4 overall and 0-4-1 in Crossroads League play, while USF improves to 5-8-1 (3-2 CL). The Foresters are back at King Stadium on Wednesday to host Goshen at 6:00 p.m.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 181 NAIA All-America honors and 631 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 Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.