Two hat tricks lift Wesleyan to Fall Classic Championship

Rocky Mount, NC - Senior Danny Jones and sophomore Kevin Lue each recorded hat tricks on Sunday afternoon, lifting the 15th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan men’s soccer team to a dominating 12-0 win over the College of Mount Saint Vincent.  Coupled with Saturday’s 4-0 shutout of Randolph, the Bishops captured the 2007 Fall Classic crown.  Methodist University, which also went 2-0 in the tournament, took second place as Wesleyan tallied sixteen total goals to the Monarchs’ nine and won by goal differential.

In Saturday’s Classic action, Methodist took a 3-0 lead over MSV into the break.  After the Dolphins scored the first goal of the second half, the Monarchs put to rest any thoughts of a comeback by ending the game on a 4-0 run.  Sophomore Bret Brennan paced MU with a hat trick, including the game-winner.

The second game pitted the homestanding Bishops against the Wildcats of Randolph College.  The feisty ‘Cats showed promise for the first-year program and forced a 0-0 tie at intermission.

Wesleyan, however, quickly got its offense going in the final period as senior Alimamy Kargbo collected a deep pass from Jason Bottani and booted home the eventual game-winner less than four minutes into the half.

Freshman Marco Kirsch and Jones added the Bishops’ next two goals in the 52nd and 66th minutes, respectively.  Sophomore Edgar Zaldivar notched an assist on each.  Bobson Conteh rounded out Wesleyan’s scoring in the final minute when he headed in a Lue cross.

On Sunday, upset-minded Randolph took a 1-0 lead over the Monarchs at the 8:21 mark when Eric van Staaldiunen scored the program’s first goal with a shot from 15 yards out.  Methodist rebounded with a goal by Desmond Keane to tie the game 1-1 at the half.  Brennan later recorded his second straight game-winner in the 58th minute for the 2-1 MU victory.

In the tournament’s final game, the Bishops turned in a dominating performance against the Dolphins.  Needing six goals to clinch the championship over MU, Wesleyan quickly took care of business by forging a 6-0 lead at halftime. 

Freshman BJ Godwin got NCWC on the board with the first goal of his career at the 4:03 mark, and sophomore Jimmy Pierce added his first goal of the season just six minutes later for a quick 2-0 advantage.  Jones then realed off the next three Bishop scores, and the rout was on as Lue’s goal in the 40th minute gave Wesleyan three goals in a 47-second span before the break.

Lue tacked on two more scores to start the second half, while Philip Fritschmann, Pa Saloum Gai, and Carlos Davila followed with their first goals of the season.  Davila secured the 12-0 final with his second goal of the day in the 67th minute.

Kirsch finished with two assists.  Karbo, Godwin, Lue, Conteh, Robert Ivanovich, and Tom Sharp each had one.

The Bishops out-shot MSV 37-2 on the day.  Freshman keeper Kevin Quicker earned his first win and shutout in goal, while the Dolphins’ William Raftery and James Green split time and each recorded four saves.

Wesleyan returns to action next Saturday and Sunday at the New Jersey City Classic.  The Bishops face Drew University on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., followed by a match-up with host NJCU at noon on Sunday.