Huron United (HUFC) plays under the Saugeen Shores United Football Club (SSUFC) playing out of the Tri-City Men’s Soccer League again this season, their second year back since a pandemic-induced sabbatical. The roster is composed of players from Kincardine, Port Elgin, and surrounding areas.
On July 23rd, HUFC turned in a poor performance against a strong Oriental SC Reserves team falling by a score of 4-0. Oriental capitalized on set piece opportunities throughout the game despite the valiant efforts of goalkeeper Haydon Armstrong, who earned Man of the Match honours in defeat.
HUFC’s players were eager to redeem themselves after that lackluster effort and showed up ready to play on August 6th against Stratford CT FC in Listowel.
HUFC got off to a sizzling start after holding midfielder Flynn Colwell-Castles initiated a passing sequence that culminated in Ryan Schriek’s delivery of a perfectly weighted through ball to striker Andrew Wiegersma. Wiegersma smashed it into the net with authority, overpowering the Stratford keeper’s fingertips to put HUFC up in the 4th minute.
Masoom Saromie was conscripted into keeper duties, and immediately showed his superior distribution skills with pinpoint long passes to his wide midfielders. Co-captain Gerrit Satosek showed no signs of rust in his return from injury, making his physical presence felt against Stratford’s overmatched fullbacks. Huron United’s relentless pressing yielded two more early chances for Wiegersma, who proved dangerous as a shooting threat from any angle.
Facing an injury-induced shortage on the backline, Huron United brought in club legend Dave McNeish as a reinforcement at centre-back, and it took no time at all before Spinrite Field was echoing with the distinctive sound of his thudding headers. Moments after subbing in, McNeish nearly converted a header off a set-piece but was denied by the woodwork, much to the chagrin of the HUFC bench.
Huron United’s early lead did not quite survive to halftime, as Stratford got one back in the 36th minute after an errant pass off an HUFC throw-in allowed the visitors to get one past Saromie.
HUFC nearly replicated their hot start in the second half, with winger Drew Cobean surging forward and laying off to Satosek, whose effort just climbed over the bar. Moments later, Schriek also had a narrow miss after a crafty chip caught the Stratford keeper flat-footed.
The deadlock was broken in the 58th minute by a much deserved goal, for both team and player, when Colwell-Castles confidently headed home a Schriek corner into the far bottom corner.
An inadvertent collision off a corner kick won Stratford a penalty in the 74h minute. Saromie made a tremendous diving save on the initial attempt, but the Assistant Referee ruled that he had left his line early. Saromie talked his way into a yellow card during the protest, but in doing so he sufficiently intimidated the Stratford penalty taker; Stratford’s second attempt went wide of the goal, preserving HUFC’s 2-1 lead.
Huron United was able to see through an intense closing sequence with composure and a commitment to marking, and the club walked away with a well-earned victory. The Man of the Match award went to Colwell-Castles for his winning goal and relentless defensive work rate, with Saromie receiving an honourable mention for his stellar performance in net.
HUFC nearly replicated their hot start in the second half, with winger Drew Cobean surging forward and laying off to Satosek, whose effort just climbed over the bar. Moments later, Schriek also had a narrow miss after a crafty chip caught the Stratford keeper flat-footed.
The club can be followed at https://www.kdslsoccer.com/teams/default.asp?u=KDSL&s=soccer&p=home.
