Watt’s Hat Trick Leads GC Pride Men’s Soccer Past Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Greensboro College Pride men’s soccer team defeated the Hornets of Lynchburg College by a 3-2 score on Sunday afternoon. Shaun Watt led the way for the Pride with his first career hat trick for the green and white.

The Pride got on the board first in the eight minute of play when Watt connected off a feed from Craig Gage, putting the Pride up 1-0. Over next 20 minutes of play, Lynchburg was able to push the pace of play before finding the back of the net in the 31st minute tying the game at 1-1.

Five minutes after the Hornets found the equalizer, they were able to convert on a penalty kick to take a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.

After the intermission period, it only took the Pride 14 minutes to find Watt again for his second goal of the game off an assist from Liam Buckley tying the game at 2-2. As the regulation period started ticking away, Shaun Watt collected what would be the game’s deciding goal in the 80th minute of play from an assist by Robbie Barnes completing the trifecta.

The Hornets were able to put one final shot on goal in the 82nd minute, but Pride goalkeeper Logan Rohde was able to make the stop to preserve the victory.

“I am very pleased getting a win against a quality opponent away. The group showed a lot of character bouncing back from a loss on Saturday.” Pride Head Coach John Trice also said, “Unfortunately, we got caught up with the refereeing and we must be more professional moving forward if we want to be a championship program.”

The Pride was out shot in the contest by a narrow 16-11 margin, but held the advantage in corner kicks by a 5-2 count. Shaun Watt led the way for the Pride with four shots, while Scott Fatyol and Joel Cortez added two each.

Logan Rohde (2-1) picked up his second win on the young season while collecting four saves.

With the win, the Greensboro College men’s soccer team moves their overall record to 2-1 on the season. The Pride men will return to the field on next Saturday as they travel to take on Birmingham-Southern at 3:30 PM in the first game of the 2014 Birmingham-Southern Classic. For the latest in Greensboro College athletics, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.