| 10.15.05 - It was
a "must win" situation for the Foresters if they wanted to keep their
playoff hopes alive, and they responded with a 3-1 win over Grace
College. Only the top eight teams will compete in the MCC
post-season tournament next week. The victory puts HU in a tie
for eighth place with Grace in the conference standings. The
Foresters currently have the upper hand with the head-to-head win over
the Lancers, but Grace has two MCC contests remaining and could knock
HU out with a win in one or both of those matches.
The Foresters got on the board first when
Andrew Wust finished a Joel Sanders assist with a score 15 minutes into
the game. The Lancers had several opportunities to get the
equalizer, hitting the crossbar three times in the opening period, but
came away empty for a 1-0 score at the break.
Grace went on the offensive to begin
the second half and knotted the score 1-1 in the 59th minute. HU
battled back and earned a penalty kick on a Lancer hand ball in the
box. Sanders had no trouble finding the net to reclaim the lead
for the Foresters with 19 minutes remaining. Five minutes later
Ben Haifley gave HU an insurance goal off Sanders' second assist in
the game.
To make things interesting in the final
11 minutes, the Foresters went down a man when Sanders was ejected
from the game after receiving a second yellow card in the match.
Grace picked up its intensity, but HU withstood the Lancers' charge
with tremendous possession play. "The guys have been working
hard," said Coach Lawson. "To get a result like this is
extremely gratifying."
The Foresters now stand at 3-12 on the
season and 1-6 in the MCC. |
