Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Tuesday afternoon’s game in Eureka.

By Ray Hamill — The Fortuna Huskies kept their championship ambitions well on track with a win at Eureka on Tuesday afternoon.

Playing at Washington Field, the visiting Huskies opened up a three-goal lead on the way to a 3-1 win over the Loggers.

The victory lifts the Fortuna boys to 4-1 in H-DNL play, with their only league loss coming in Crescent City.

They still trail the league leading Arcata Tigers, who had a bye on Tuesday and remain 5-0 in H-DNL action.

The two frontrunners play in Fortuna on Saturday.

Elsewhere in the H-DNL on Tuesday, McKinleyville defeated South Fork 10-0 and Del Norte beat St. Bernard’s 12-0.

“It was a slow start for us, but we settled in the second half,” Fortuna head coach Daniel Holmes said. 

Kaden Lodes, Jesus Herrera and Israel Hernandez all scored for the visitors.

After taking a 3-0 lead, Homes used the occasion to give his bench players some valuable playing time.

Trenton Gerber scored the only goal for Eureka, pouncing on a rebound in the penalty area after the Fortuna goalkeeper was unable to gather his initial shot.

“I thought we played Fortuna pretty hard,” Eureka head coach Tommy Learmouth said. “They play a beautiful style of soccer and it’s difficult for teams to match up against them and we matched up okay.

“They were the better team, but we grew into the game.”

The Huskies led 1-0 at halftime.

“The team was really positive at halftime. Fortuna just started the second half better than we did,” Learmouth added.

The Loggers enjoyed a fair share of exchanges towards the end of the game as both teams threatened their opponent’s goal.

“We got some opportunities at the end,” Learmouth added. “I told the players the way we ended this game is how we have to play all the time.”

The senior leaders — Gerber, Luis Rodriguez, Makai Dennon and Will Mooney — continued to lead the way for the Loggers.

“The seniors, they’re the rock stars for us,” Learmouth said. “I don’t think they get the credit they deserve … they never give up.”

With the loss, the Loggers dropped to 2-3 in league play.

McKinleyville 10, South Fork 0

Elsewhere in the H-DNL on Tuesday, McKinleyville beat South Fork 10-0.

The in-form Rylee Collart again provided much of the Panthers’ offense for the second straight game.

Just three days after netting seven times against St. Bernard’s, Collart scored five goals and added two assists against the Cubs.

The Panthers received a big boost with the return of starting goalkeeper Nick Maher, who had missed much of the early season through injury, and he posted a clean sheet in his first game back.

That also freed up Jake Gardner to move from goal to the outfield and he had an immediate impact, assisting on five of his team’s goals.

“It’s great to have that guy out of goal and playing the field again,” said McKinleyville head coach Ryne Deppe, who added “I’m super grateful to have Jake fill in, but it’s even better to have Nick healthy and Jake on the field again.”