PHILADELPHIA –
Kevin Castro's (Bensalem, Pa./Father Judge) volley from outside of the box with 7:31 remaining capped a 2-1 comeback victory, as the HFU Men's Soccer Team overcame a halftime deficit in its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) opener at Caldwell on Friday afternoon.
The Cougars headed away a long throw into the box, but Castro volleyed it into the right top right corner for his second career goal.
Caldwell pushed for an equalizer, but
Bruno Mestres (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Mackenzie Tambore) made two stops in the final 53 seconds to cap a nine-save performance.
Both teams finished with 17 attempts and scored within 5:28 of either side of halftime, as
Ever Maradiaga (Edgewater Park, N.J./Life Center Academy) cancelled out the Cougars' 43rd minute opener with his first goal of the season in the 51st.
Holy Family had multiple opportunities to take the lead over the next seven minutes, but
Ricardo Paniccia Giraldez (O Porriño, Spain/IES Pino Manso) had a shot saved before the Tigers missed a penalty.
That was part of a stretch in which HFU had eighth consecutive attempts, ending with Castro forcing a stop in the 62nd minute.
Caldwell came back with five of the next six, but Mestres made four saves – including three in a 4:58 stretch – to keep the match tied.
Up Next
The Tigers hosts Wilmington on Thursday at 4 p.m.
