ST. COLUMBAN – The South Huron Rush completed a stretch of four games in two weeks Sunday with a lopsided 12-0 loss to the league’s top team.  

South Huron looked tired and disinterested at times against St. Columban according to coach Tim Hundey, who added: "We had to be at our absolute best in order to break up (St. Columban's) perfect season. Unfortunately we weren’t even close."
Hundey said South Huron was never really in the contest and the strong St. Columban squad showed extreme control of every aspect of the game.

That dominance led to what Hundey called "the worst loss in South Huron’s short history."

July 9 South Huron took on Marconi in League Cup action and suffered another loss, this one a 3-1 decision.  

South Huron started off strong and for the first time in five games got the opening goal, Hundey said.

Maria Knip sent a hard corner kick into the box and the defenders had trouble clearing it. Hustling midfielder Joanna Knip crashed the net and sent the ball just under the cross bar, giving the Rush the early lead.

South Huron could not hold onto the lead and was quickly down by a goal after two goals by Marconi strikers.

In the second half, South Huron could not muster much offence and ended up falling to Marconi.

Though the week ended badly for the Rush, it started positively. July 6 they hosted Curinga and managed a 2-2 tie.

The game started with great signs for South Huron, Hundey said, adding that his team controlled the play and created good scoring opportunities.  

After a sustained attack by the Rush, Curinga turned the tables and cleared the ball out of their end. An errant head ball by a South Huron defensive midfielder led to a break for a Curinga striker.  

The forward beat goalie Sandra Gregus, who Hundey said had no chance on the play.

The goal seemed to motivate South Huron and once again they pressed the action into Curinga’s end. South Huron tied the game on a Maria Knip corner kick that sailed to Megan Sereda.  

Sereda sent  the ball back into the box, where Melanie Smith-Lalonde finished the play with a volley into the back of the net. The game remained tied at halftime.

Almost immediately after the half, missed coverages and missed opportunities to clear the ball led to an open offensive player bearing down on Gregus.  

The striker let go a trickle of a pass that squeaked by the goaltender for an easy finish by a Curinga central midfielder. Curinga’s lead was restored.

The rest of the half belonged to South Huron. A Justine van Esbroeck pass to Lindsay Branderhorst led to a well-placed shot from beyond the edge of the 18-yard box that hit the far corner of the net and tied the game.

South Huron continued to dominate the second half. They created many scoring chances and rarely allowed Curinga to get out of their zone.

South Huron’s chances were not capitalized on as their shooting accuracy was "certainly not on display," Hundey said.

Curinga did manage a breakaway late in the game, and Rush midfielder Julie Moore was all that stood in the way of another South Huron loss.

The determined Moore chased down the striker and just as the visiting player was about to shoot, Moore lunged and completed a well-timed slide tackle. She cleared the ball out of danger and preserved the tie for South Huron.

Reflecting on the week, Hundey reiterated what he said to the team Sunday.  

"It was certainly a demoralizing loss to St. Columban, but we have shown only tiny glimpses of our potential this year," he said. "I hope we are able to use this rough stretch to motivate us to turn this thing around. There is way too much soccer to be played to give up now."

On paper things do not get much easier for the Rush, as they host a team that trounced them 8-0 early in the season. South Huron hosts second-place Woodstock tomorrow (Thursday) at 8:30 at Exeter Community Park.  

"Woodstock will be seeing a different, more determined South Huron this time," Hundey said.