Short-handed Edison falls to Huron

MILAN — The goal that signified the drastic shift in momentum came from a familiar combination. Chris Heidl, swinging in the corner. Cam Manner, faking his run to the far post before cutting back toward the center of the box. Manner, with a renowned right foot, showed his head could get the job done, too, and Huron was on its way to a major victory. "Those two have been together for years," said Huron assistant Rob Heidl, who was standing in for Matt Asher. "That's been the play for the last six or seven years. It's very simple but very effective." Manner, who added a third goal to complete his hat trick, led the Tigers to a 3-1 win at Bolt Field on Monday evening. The triumph improved Huron to 3-1 in the SBC (5-3 overall), one game off the league pace. Edison dominated the first hour but couldn't find a goal. Almost all action took place in the Chargers' attacking end, and Jonah Main and Alex Davidson created frequent danger in the box. Finally, with 9:30 until the intermission, Main found his way to a loose ball in the box and slotted it home with his left foot. Chaos quickly followed. Huron nearly immediately broke away off the kickoff, and Nick Proctor brought down Cam Manner from behind in the box, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Proctor was red-carded, and Manner converted the penalty for 1-1 just 28 seconds after the first goal. Edison had been in this spot earlier this season, getting a victory against Oak Harbor from a tied position despite being down a man. The Chargers possessed well in the final nine minutes of the half despite the numbers disadvantage. "It definitely changes things," Edison coach James Duffy said. "Even with 10 men, we moved the ball, we worked the ball well, we were getting shots on goal… It's a little tough, second time impacted by a red card. It's personal discipline, it's realizing where you are on the field." Huron came out of the halftime break on fire. Manner put the ball in the back of the net almost immediately but was ruled narrowly offside. The breakthrough came nine minutes into the second half. Heidi's cross initially looked like it would end with an earlier runner, but it floated past and Manner followed up for the finish. Manner put the game away with 11:30 to play. Heidl played Manner into space along the left wing, and the junior striker cut back onto his right foot to lose his defender. Then he showed off the powerful right leg with a missile into the upper right corner. Scott Allen made two late saves on close-range shots to finish with six for the game. Huron's win keeps it involved in the SBC title chase with a massive trip to Vermilion (4-0 SBC) on Wednesday.