PRINCETON — The Hun School varsity boys’ soccer team got an earlier start to the regular season this year, yet the Raiders are still trying to hit their stride.
Eighteenth-year head coach Patrick Quirk’s squad played well Friday when it hosted a tough Haverford School club at Wilf Field, but could not get the tying goal it needed after the Fords took the lead eight minutes into the second half.
The result was a 2-1 loss which dropped Hun’s record to 3-3, while Haverford improved to 6-1 24 hours after also having beaten the Lawrenceville School (3-1 Thursday).
“We’ve been up and down so far,” said Quirk, whose team was 13-4-2 a year ago. “I do think the early start helped us. We played a good Hopewell Valley team and lost, 3-0. But that helped us learn a little about ourselves right away.”
The same was true Friday when the Raiders got on the board first – 2:27 into the game when senior midfielder Oleksandr “Sasha” Mykhalchuk chipped a lead pass from junior forward Armaan Grewal over Fords junior goalkeeper Graham Costello.
Costello and his defense did not let anything else get by despite steady pressure from Hun, which had an 11-9 advantage in shots.
“Sometimes it seems like we’re too direct with our shooting. Other times, we’re not direct enough,” Hun senior fullback Caleb Willner said.
With the constant runs of Haverford’s fleet-footed junior forward Haven Hoilett, Willner and his two classmates in the backfield – Chris Meehan and Noah Silvestre – in front of new goalkeeper Yanni Moraitis, a junior, the home team had to focus on sealing defensive holes.
“Yanni’s been great back there. He’s had a lot to follow up on after four years with (all-star ‘keeper) Diego (Peña, now at George Washington University),” Willner said. “The other defenders and I need to work more on supporting each other better. We need to be helping one another more.”
Little defensive mistakes cost the Raiders yesterday.
First, Moraitis got caught ranging too far off his line when he collided with one of the Fords in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Haverford junior Finn French converted the shot 1:14 after Hun had taken the lead.
The game stayed tied into the second half, which opened with Moraitis stonewalling Fords junior Brody Collins on the fastbreak with 32:58 to go.
Exactly a minute later, the Raiders’ defense got caught when Haverford sophomore Jose Hernandez lofted a long corner kick over Moraitis’ leap to the far post where junior Christopher Burnetta knocked in the go-ahead goal.
From there, Costello, who made 10 saves, stopped two blasts by Mykhalchuk and another from senior midfielder Gonzalo Perez Nuñez.
With 12 minutes left, Moraitis (seven saves) halted a drive by Hoilett to keep the lead at a goal.
Right down to the wire, Hun tried for the equalizer, including a scramble in front off a corner kick with a minute remaining in which it appeared there may have been a handball in the box. No whistle sounded.
“Our dream goal is always to beat Pennington,” Willner said. “We want to get better, win games and be proud of our season. Personally, I’d like to score because I don’t get many opportunities.”
That chance may come. First, the Raiders, who have allowed 15 goals in six games (while scoring 13), need to clamp down defensively to get back to their winning ways.
Goals: French, Burnetta (Ha), Mykhalchuk (Hu); Assists: Hernandez (Ha), Grewal (Hu).
