Huirache nets three as Bulldogs blast Bengals

Richards celebrated senior night in front of family and friends with a convincing 5-1 victory over South Suburban Conference rival Oak Forest Tuesday afternoon.

Senior Manuel Huirache led the Bulldogs (4-6-2, 3-5) by posting a hat trick. The loss dropped the Bengals to 7-9-3, 3-5.

"It felt good to finish off plays and help my team," Huirache said. "We talked about playing a good game on senior night and we did it. We have had our ups and downs this year but hopefully we can carry what we did today into the playoffs."

There was plenty of action early on.

Richards' Jack Waywoda tried to dent the net with 33:19 left in the first half but Oak Forest's Kent Borden kicked the ball out of the Bengals' crease area.

Oak Forest tried to counter with Franco Merenda ripping a drive at the 29:55 mark that Bulldog goalie Christian Rogue stopped. Moments later, Merenda found Brad Couch with a corner pass and Couch send a header toward the net that was stopped by Bengal goalie Marcino Vega.

Finally, Bulldog senior Will De La Torre filled the net with 5:16 left in the first half to give Richards a hard-earned 1-0 advantage.

"We finished strong and took control of the game," De La Torre said. "It feels good when we are all on the same page. We work very hard and it showed today. We have had our ups and downs throughout the season and we stick together whether we lose or win.".

Richards remained on the attack the entire second half. Huirache scored at the 38:18 mark to ignite what would be a furious offensive onslaught by the Bulldogs.

A few minutes later, Waywoda's shot eluded Vega and gave his team a 3-0 advantage.

With 36:28 remaining, Huirache nailed his second goal of the game to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-0.

Oak Forest would finally stem the bleeding when Brad Ferraro drilled a shot by Rogue to cut the deficit to 4-1.

"I put Ferraro in to pick up our offense," said Oak Forest coach David Ander. "We just did not do anything right today. We lost the balls in the middle, did not hit our marks and did not finish. We need to take care of the basics if we are going to win games."

The Bengals comeback hopes were dashed for good when Huirache netted his third goal of the contest with 18:44 left to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead.

Rogue did have to make three good saves on quality scoring opportunities by the Bengals to close out the game.

With 17:16 left, Tyler Caprio hit Ferraro with a nice pass but Rogue made the save. Rogue also turned away shots from Merenda (1:43) and Matt Runge (1:12).

"We were flat the first half but came out on fire in the second," said Richards coach Luis Espinosa. "We won the balls in the middle, hit our passes and finished with goals. It would be nice to finish the season off and enter the playoffs with some of the things we did right today."