Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Wednesday’s game between the Huskies and Panthers at McKinleyville.

The Arcata Tigers and Fortuna Huskies both moved four points clear of the chasing pack in H-DNL boys soccer with big wins on Wednesday.

The Huskies, who improved to 13-0 overall, traveled to McKinleyville and came away with a 5-1 win, while the Tigers welcomed the Eureka Loggers to Arcata and shut out their rivals 3-0.

With the two victories, the league frontrunners both improved to 4-0.

Third-placed Del Norte (2-1 in league) had a midweek bye, while in another league game on Tuesday the South Fork Cubs got their first H-DNL win, edging St. Bernard’s 3-2.

At McKinleyville, the Huskies continued to impress as they look to make it two straight league titles.

And while there’s still a long way to go in the race for this year’s championship, Fortuna has been very impressive thus far.

The Huskies took control of Wednesday’s game with a big first-half performance and they led 4-0 at halftime.

“Overall, a good match for the boys today,” Fortuna head coach Daniel Holmes said. 

Kaden Lodes scored twice in the win, with Oscar Tovar, Brandon Cruz and Israel Hernandez each also finding the back of the net.

“I thought Kaden Lodes held the ball well at the top and was patient,” Holmes said.

He wasn’t the only standout on the day.

Midfielders Manny Diaz and Danny Cortes both had good games and “linked in the middle and found width with their passing,” according to the coach.

Check out some first-half goal highlights from Fortuna’s game below …

The back line also impressed with Cruz and Brandon Castillo Loya anchoring the unit.

Gaelen Creighton scored the only goal of the game for the home team, netting off a Lucas Jones corner kick.

However, the Panthers started slow and could never fully recover.

“I thought we didn’t come out with the right energy,” head coach Brady Burtchett said. “We had plenty of opportunities to score, we just made mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes.”

The consistent Creighton had a strong game, but there weren’t a whole lot of bright spots for a young McKinleyville team that is still finding it feet.

“Gaelen played hard throughout the game, but other than that we all made mistakes,” Burtchett said. “We’ve got to make sure we take a step forward with every game.”

With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 1-3 in league play.

At Arcata,meanwhile, it was a good day for the Aguilar brothers.

Senior Cruz Aguilar netted twice in the win, while freshman Isai Aguilar rounded out the scoring.

Seniors Julian Gillespie and Lars Gerdes each had an assist.

Overall, it was another good win for the Tigers, but they will be tested in back-to-back games against fellow contenders Fortuna and Del Norte on each of the next two Saturdays.

“They’re developing a strong game model,” Arcata head coach John Davidson said of his players. “In the first half they were dominant, relentless, positive. In the second half I feel like we could have been a little more clinical with our finishing and maybe have a little more possession.

“But both halves were strong. The attitude was terrific. The energy from the two training sessions prior to the game was just top.”

It was another disappointing result for a Eureka team that dropped to 0-3 in league play.

Injuries have impacted the Loggers, but they grew into the game and enjoyed a better second half.

“Injuries hurt us and Arcata capitalized on our inexperience,” head coach Tommy Learmouth said. “However, the team settled into a new shape in the second half and showed a lot of heart and pride.”

One big bright spot for the visitors was the play of goalkeeper Mason Beauchamp, who continues to have a big impact between the posts.

Beauchamp finished with 15 saves and “had a huge game,” according to Learmouth.

Davidson, meanwhile, knows his team has two difficult opponents waiting in the wing before they reach the halfway stage of league play.

“The work is not done,” he said.

The Tigers will travel to Del Norte this Saturday before hosting Fortuna seven days later.

“We need to forget (this game), let it go and go back to work tomorrow and make little improvements that over time will turn into big improvements,” the coach added.

Fortuna, meanwhile, will have a weekend bye before hosting Eureka next Wednesday.