BLUEFIELD, Va. – Men's soccer suffered a 3-0 setback at Bluefield Saturday afternoon. The Rams scored twice in the opening half and once more in the second half to secure the victory while the Bears were unable to score despite outshooting Bluefield 22-15 for the game.
The Rams offense ran solely through Erik Albarran as he tallied all three of Bluefield's goals to record the hat trick. Albarran's hat trick was the second of the season for the Rams' leading goal scorer. He also recorded a hat trick in the season opener against Appalachian Bible.
Only a sophomore, Albarran has quickly become a thorn in the side of the Bears as he also tallied twice during BC's win a season ago. He got to work quickly on Saturday as he tallied his first goal of the day in the 19th minute of play when Hector Comacho found him on the left side of the box to make it 1-0.
Comacho and James Gunn would then assist on his second goal of the afternoon with nine minutes to play in the opening half to make it 2-0 at the break. Albarran would then finish off his hat trick with 20 minutes left in the game as he again received the ball on the left side of the field. With a 1 v 1 with the keeper, SSU goalie Thomas Carbonari would come out to try and deny the angle but Albarran chipped it over his head and into the goal. Michael Callaghan was credited with the assist on the final goal.
Those three shots that Albarran scored on would be his only shots on goal for the game. In total he finished with four shots. Although Bluefield finished with seven less shots in the game, the Rams were very efficient with their offense as they scored on three of their five shots on goal. Rams' goalie Jefferson Watson finished the game with six saves to record the shutout.
Six different players recorded a single shot on goal for the game while 11 different players tallied SSU's combined 22 shot attempts. Danny Parsons finished with four shots in the game for SSU while Ryan Klear and Martyn Sayer each took three shots in the game. Joseph Webster, Jacob Hackworth and Tanner Hopwood each recorded one shot and put a ball on target while Joe Lamont had the other shot on goal for the Bears.
Men's soccer will have a full week to get ready for rival Rio Grande next Saturday, October 12. The RedStorm was ranked No. 2 in the country behind Lindsey Wilson in the most recent NAIA Poll. A season ago, Rio Grande barely escaped the Shawnee Turf with a 1-0 victory in double overtime.
