Soccer Bucs come up just short in 2-1 setback to Huntington

HUNTINGTON – The Buckhannon-Upshur soccer Buccaneers dropped a 2-1 road decision to Huntington Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.

Nick Wilson of Huntington scored the game’s only goal in the first half when he scored on a shot from the top of the penalty area that reached the back post and into the net.

Elis Esteves made it 2-0 for Huntington in the 43^rd minute when he took a pass and scored from almost the same spot as Wilson did.

Christian Dowell scored B-U’s lone goal in the 56^th minute when he found the back of the net on a penalty kick.

“Huntington plays great possession and overall, we did a good job of playing patiently and taking advantage of the chances we earned,” stated Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Mike  Donato. “Our midfielders showed much improvement in their defensive rotations and support which forced some mistakes on their part.”

The Bucs trailed in shots-on-goal by a 16-5 margin and in corner kicks by a 4-0 margin.

“The stats show us getting outshot by a three to one margin, but we did a great job of not surrendering many quality chances,” noted Donato.

Fouls were even at five apiece.

Buckhannon-Upshur keeper Slaton Kowalkoski came up big for the Bucs several times with  14 saves.

“Slaton made a big save on a penalty kick towards the end of the second half which gave us some momentum for a late push, but just couldn’t find the back of the net again,” concluded Donato.

Huntington goalie Brody Seals made four saves.

Huntington improved to 10-5-2 on the year while the Bucs dropped to 5-9-2 on the season.

The Bucs will be back on the pitch Tuesday hosting Bridgeport in a Big 10 Conference clash starting at 7:30 p.m.