Spencer’s goal helps Hun earn its second victory

PRINCETON >> The line “If you build it, they will come” is usually linked to baseball.

However, that classic from the movie Field of Dreams could just as easily be connected to soccer.

In that case, the “it” would refer to a team’s attack, and the “they” would refer to goals.

The Hun School and Princeton Day School varsity boys soccer teams can buy into that.

Both the Raiders and the Panthers have impressive looking sides this season, yet scoring does not always come easily.

Hun head coach Patrick Quirk and PDS head coach Ollie Hilliker have tried to impress upon their players the importance of building their attacks. They have made moves in an attempt to quick start their offenses.

On a mirky day at Jan Baker Field, however, all the hard work is not always easy to capitalize upon.

Both teams had opportunities Thursday, but only the Raiders were able to produce a goal as Hun won its second game by a 1-0 score.

“Our coaches helped us turn things around,” Raiders sophomore midfielder Osman Bayazitoglu said. “We decided if we go 100 percent, no matter what, we can win.”

And score more goals. The Turkish American youngster played a key part in the build up Thursday as he set up senior back Brian Spencer for the winning tally. Bayazitoglu took a short corner kick and centered the ball where Spencer came crashing through to knock the ball past PDS junior goalkeeper Bruno Cucchi after 35 minutes of scoreless play.

“They wanted me to hit it first time, so we just played it short and crossed it in,” Bayazitoglu said. “A shoutout to Brian Spencer for being there to knock it in.”

With the Panthers holding Senior Day festivities at halftime, it figured the home team would come out on a mission in the second half. Hun made that difficult, but, as the half continued, PDS looked ready to even the score.

“We had our chances in both halves,” Panthers senior midfielder Nasim Amer said. “We lacked quality in the final third. I think it might have been a problem with our mindset. We beat them, 8-2, last year, so I think we came in thinking this was going to be easy.”

While Cucchi and the defensive line of Gregorio Rodriguez, Aidan McChesney and Cal Caputo kept the Raiders in check, Amer had one of the best chances at tying the game with 7:33 left.

Chima Chukumba was fouled outside the box. Amer took the ensuing free kick and dipped a shot on goal, which Hun junior goalkeeper Alex Donahue got his fingertips on to knock over the crossbar.

“I thought I was going to have it like I did against Blair Academy,” Amer said.

Four minutes later, Donahue picked another free kick from Amer out of the air to keep the Panthers from capitalizing on all their buildup.

While disappointed, they have to believe if they continue to do so, the goals will come.

Hun (2-5-2) 1 0 — 1

PDS (3-7) 0 0 — 0

Goal: Spencer (H); Assist: Bayazitoglu (H).

Shots: 7 (H), 5 (PDS); Saves: Donahue 5 (H), Cucchi 6 (PDS).