PROVIDENCE, RI – Rookie Chris Schmid (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored the first hat trick of his collegiate career as Johnson & Wales University downed Mount Ida, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action.
Records:
Mount Ida: 4-7-2, 1-4-1 GNAC, Johnson & Wales: 7-2-4, 3-1-1 GNAC
Johnson & Wales had a flurry of shots in the first half, outshooting the Mustangs 18-0, but couldn't put one through until the 20thminute. Erik Schneider's (Plantsville, Conn.) first shot was stopped by Mount Ida keeper Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.), but Andrew Vecere (Wayne, NJ) collected the rebound and got it back to Schneider who put it in for his fifth goal of the season.
With less than 10 minutes left in the opening stanza, JWU got back on the board again. Jason Cruz (Providence, RI), took the ball down the left side and sent in a crossing pass that Schmid (Clifton Park, NY) headed in.
The Wildcats got two more goals in the second half thanks to a pair of Mount Ida miscues. A foul in the box by the Mustangs gave Teagan Drake (Waterbury, Vt.) a penalty kick and he drilled it in the right side. Later in the period, Ford misplayed a ball that allowed Riley Spotton (Ronkonkoma, NY) to pass it to Schmid for his second goal.
Schmid added his third goal of the game in the 75th minute when he put back the rebound of Rob Zukofsky's shot. Schmid is the first Wildcat to record a hat trick since senior Xavier Carty (Mt. Vernon, NY) did it against Suffolk in the opening round of the 2015 GNAC Tournament.
It was a quiet day for JWU goalkeeper Jon Robbins (Berkley Heights, NJ) as he only had to make one save to get his fourth victory. On the flipside, JWU outshot the Mustangs 31-3 and Ford had to make eight saves for Mount Ida.
Mount Ida heads to Norwich on Monday night for a 7:00 pm GNAC game, while the Wildcats go on the road Monday to Lasell for a 3:30 p.m. contest.