TAR HEEL – Cristian Rodriguez poured in a ‘Hat Trick’ of 3 goals Thursday to lead Tar Heel to a 7-1 Waccamaw Middle School Conference boys’ soccer victory over East Columbus.
The Panthers moved into sole possession of 1st place in the Waccamaw’s AA Division with a 2-0 record and will host unbeaten Clarkton School of Discovery Monday in a non-conference game.
“This was a big win for us tonight,” said Panther Coach Brett Jackson. “After slow start to the season, the guys finally began to put the pieces together. We came into the game a little concerned. Our starting goalie Wilvert Funez was out with an injury and we had to make some major changes to our formation.”
Jackson continued, “The guys stepped up in a big way and made it work. I am extremely proud of the way everyone played. We were able to get our younger guys out on the field and let them get some experience.”
Amine Mandi turned an assist from Alejandro Lopez into the 1st Panther goal. Lopez then knocked in a goal off of an assist from Levi Garcia. Cristian Rodriguez converted another Lopez assist into his 1st goal of the game and a 3-0 Tar Heel lead.
Lopez attacked the net and pounded in his 2nd goal of the game to finish the opening half with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Cristian Rodriguez raced to the box and drilled in an unassisted goal to start the 2nd half then scored on a corner kick to finish off his ‘Hat Trick.’ Alex Rodriguez closed out the Tar Heel scoring with an unassisted goal. Sebastian Ortega recorded 2 saves in goal for the Panthers.
“The team and I would like to dedicate the win tonight to Wilvert Funez for his birthday,” said Jackson. “He may not have been able to play tonight but came out on his birthday and helped mentor the guys from the sideline.”
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