Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Allen's hat trick helps Raiders to 1st win, 6-1 over William Jessup
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – Junior forward Brendan Allen got back on the board – three times, in fact – and gave the Southern Oregon University men's soccer team the spark it needed for its first win of the season, 6-1 over William Jessup (Calif.) on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium.
Allen, a product of Roseville, Calif., was the Raiders' top scorer with eight goals in their inaugural 2015 season. He'd been shut out since, attending Arizona State in 2016 and appearing less frequently as he worked his way back as a reserve in his return last season, until turning in the fifth hat trick in team history.
Allen wasted little time against the Warriors (1-2), sliding in to turn Zac Hansen's pass from the left corner into the first goal eight minutes into the game. After WJU's Tanner Federico leveled the score six minutes later, Allen put the Raiders up for good in the 29th minute by chipping over keeper Nick Garcia, who'd been drawn out by Jan Pessoa de Oliveira's long pass down field.
Freshman Izaiha Bruce tallied four minutes before halftime for his first collegiate goal. Carlos Magana delivered his first goal of the season and SOU-leading 15th of his career less than a minute into the second half, making it 4-1. Mitchell Pinney set up both scores for the first two-assist game of his career.
An own goal, on which Ahmon Afenegus was credited with an assist, put the Raiders up 5-1 in the 72nd minute. Two minutes later, Allen put on the finishing touches with an assist from Renee Resendez.
The win marked the first as a Raider for new head coach
Davie Carmichael. It also snapped a seven-game non-conference losing streak that dated back to the beginning of last season.
SOU (1-2) dominated play with a 32-9 advantage in shots. Raider keeper Wyatt Zabinski corralled five saves.
The Raiders will have their final tune-ups for Cascade Conference action on the road next weekend, playing Sept. 8 at UC Merced and Sept. 9 at Pacific Union (Calif.).