MOUNT UNION – Huntingdon took advantage of Mount Union mishaps as the Bearcats downed the Trojans by the final score of 7-0 in boys soccer action.
Vito LoPiccolo got it going for the Bearcats as with 34:46 remaining in the opening half, slipping through the Mount Union defensive line and fired a rocket to the back of the net giving Huntingdon a 1-0 lead.
Then just 25 seconds later, Mount Union had possession of the ball, only to face heavy pressure from Huntingdon as the Bearcats clugged the passing lanes which created a turnover as Marco Scaccia came up with the ball and found an open LoPiccolo in the middle who then scored his second goal of the game.
Isaac Cummings then got in on the action with taking control of the ball after a miscue from the Trojans and again found LoPiccolo who proceeded to score and complete the hat trick.
Huntingdon added on one more goal in half as Patick Escuadro found Nathan Mathur who helped extend the lead to 4-0 heading into the break.
The Bearcats tacked on three more goals in the second half starting with Scaccia powered his way by the Mount Union defense and scored making it a 5-0 Huntingdon lead.
Gaige Sholly kept the momentum going scoring another goal with an assist from Escuadro. Huntingdon scored its last goal of the game as Anthony Escuadro found Mathur who ended up scoring his second goal of the game.
However, a major bright spot for the Trojans was the efforts of freshman goalkeeper Izik Copenhaver who had faced 39 shots during the game and collected 25 saves. Copenhaver had come big highlight saves that prevented the score from getting worse, which include one during the first half where Cummings had a clean shot on goal only to be stopped by an incredible catch by Copenhaver.
Another moment came in the second half as Copenhaver stopped not one but two shot attempts within seconds of each other. Cummings was attacking from the outside where Copenhaver dove and prevented the goal. However, the ball had bounced off his chest and went right out to Scaccia who attempted to fire off another shot, but Copenhaver from his knees landed on top of the ball and again put a stop to the Huntingdon offense.
Mount Union (0-1) and will look for its first win of the season on Thursday as the Trojans will travel to face Everett.
Huntingdon 7, Mount Union 0
FIRST HALF
H – Vito LoPiccolo, 34:46
H – LoPiccolo (Marco Scaccia), 34:21
H – LoPiccolo (Isaac Cummings), 22:58
H – Nathan Mathur (Patrick Escuadro), 21:28
SECOND HALF
H – Scaccia, 34:40
H – Gaige Sholly (Cummings), 14:00
H – Mathur (Anthony Escuadro), 4:18
Shots: H 39-2. Corners: H 2-0. Saves: MU-25 (Izik Copenhaver), H-0 (Dalton Ardrey).