Eagles surrender hat trick in loss to UTPB
October 8, 2017
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (Oct. 9, 2017) – Texas-Permian Basin forward Brandon Lee posted a hat trick and the Falcons held off a late push by Oklahoma Christian to beat the Eagles 4-2 on Monday afternoon at Midwest City Soccer Club.
The game had been originally scheduled for last Thursday, but heavy rain left OC's home field unplayable, even on Monday. OC coach David Scott searched for an available field on which to play and found one on the east side of the Oklahoma City metro area, a 25-minute drive from the OC campus.
The loss capped a frustrating last few days for OC (3-6-2, 1-5-2 Heartland Conference), who also had to play a "home" game away from home on Saturday. The Eagles tied that game with Lubbock Christian (Texas) at Putnam City Stadium in northwest Oklahoma City and thus came away with only one standings point in the two games.
Lee, who leads the Heartland in goals with 12 this season, put UTPB (4-6-1, 3-5) ahead in the 14th minute, scoring off a rebound after OC goalkeeper Gianluca Marchetti had saved a shot by Jorge Murillo. In the 28th minute, Lee scored again, controlling a loose ball in the penalty box and directing it past Marchetti.
The Falcons went up 3-0 in the 42nd minute, when Frankie Rodriguez took a feed from Stefan Faria and slotted the ball into the net.
Seconds before the halftime whistle, UTPB was called for a handball in the penalty box and Matheus Mantovani converted the penalty kick for OC, giving the Eagles a boost. But less than five minutes into the second half, the ball-hawking Lee intercepted a pass by OC goalkeeper Gary Goldsboro Jr. – who replaced Marchetti at halftime – and tapped the ball into the net to make it 4-1.
In the 58th minute, OC senior Anthony Buchanan scored on a rebound shot, after UTPB goalkeeper Alec Sproule had saved a shot by Cole Helterbrand. The Eagles outshot UTPB 17-14, including 12-6 after halftime, and had chances to pull closer but couldn't find the target with those shots.
Sproule made eight saves for the Falcons, while Marchetti had one and Goldsboro two. It was the first appearance of the season for Goldsboro.
The Eagles will be on the road the rest of the week, visiting Newman (Kan.) on Thursday and No. 3-ranked Midwestern State (Texas) on Saturday.
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