GO TIME: Hun School boys’ soccer goalie Diego Pena clears the ball in a game earlier this season. Last week, senior star Pena made six saves in a losing cause as second-seeded Hun fell 1-0 to third-seeded and eventual champion Pennington in the Mercer County Tournament semis. The Raiders, who topped Lawrenceville 3-1 last Saturday to improve to 11-3-2, will be competing in the Prep A state tournament this week where they are seeded second and will be hosting a semifinal contest on October 27. In addition, Hun will be hosting Peddie on October 29 in a regular season game. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
After spending this past summer playing for the Dominican Republic U-17 national soccer program, Diego Pena was primed for his sophomore season with the Hun School boys’ soccer team.
“You work there with a lot of professional people and they help shape the way you are as a person and as a soccer player,” said Hun goalie Pena.
Last week, Pena showed how good a player he has become, making six saves, including some spectacular stops, in a losing cause as second-seeded Hun fell 1-0 to third-seeded and eventual champion Pennington in the Mercer County Tournament.
With Hun having shut out the Red Hawks 3-0 in a regular season contest on September 21, Pena and his teammates were ready for a battle in the rematch.
“We were coming into this game with a lot of hype,” said Pena. “It was a game we were looking for. We have got to show up and that is what we did. The first game was a really tough game and we came out on top. In this game, they obviously wanted revenge and they came pretty hard.”
Pena held the fort with a lot of help from Hun’s back line.
“I couldn’t ask for more from my defenders, it was a great game for them,” said Pena. “They had a complete game, they cleared everything they should have.” more