Daniels has hat trick as Mount Olive rolls

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on October 19, 2006 2:08 PM

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Adrian Daniels recorded his first collegiate hat trick and Erik Small added three assists as Mount Olive defeated Barton 6-1 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's soccer Wednesday at Trojan Field. With the win, Mount Olive's seventh in its last nine matches, the Trojans clinch a berth in next week's CVAC men's soccer tourney.

Mount Olive (10-7-0 overall, 4-5-0 CVAC) nearly got on the scoreboard less than seven minutes into the match when Chris Jasso slipped past the Barton defense, but Bulldog goalkeeper Michael Anderson deflected Jasso's shot over the end line and the Trojans were unable to convert the ensuing corner kick.

The match remained scoreless until just inside the 28th minute when Daniels chased down Chris Varela's service from midfield. Gregory came off his line to challenge at the top of the box, but Daniels chipped over the keeper and the ball rolled into an empty goal to put Mount Olive on top 1-0.

Daniels did not start the game and had been on the field for only a few minutes when he scored his first goal.

Daniels' second goal was almost a carbon copy of his first, this time catching up to a service by Small on the right side and scoring from 18 yards out in the 43rd minute as the Trojans went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

"Both of Adran's goals were 'hustle' goals," said Trojan head coach Jerry Riggs. "I told Adrain we need him to make things happen. He certainly came through."

After intermission, it took Mount Olive only 23 seconds to extend the lead to 3-0 as the second half kick was played wide to Jasso, who beat a defender in the corner. Jasso crossed the ball to Woody Stilley, who headed the ball inside the right post. The Trojans scored again five minutes later as Small crossed the ball from the right to Bradley Carroll, who put the ball in the back of the net from 15 yards out to make the score 4-0.

In game time, Mount Olive scored three goals in a span of 8:27.

Barton (2-9-2, 0-7-2) avoided the shutout when a foul in the Trojan box led to a penalty kick by Scott Summers in the 65th minute as the Bulldogs pulled within 4-1.

Mount Olive answered six minutes later when Small played a restart to Ryan Capdepon, who blasted a shot from 25 yards out. Daniels closed out the scoring and completed his hat trick in the 79th minute on a 15-yard shot off a service by Ryan Adamski.

Daniels gave his teammates most of the credit for his hat trick.

"As a team, we worked hard to create some opportunities," said Daniels, a freshman forward from Greenville. "Today, I was able to finish."

Mount Olive outshot Barton 24-6 and limited the Bulldogs to only one other shot on goal besides the penalty kick. Chase Smith recorded one save for the Trojans before giving way to Bryan Stitz in the 61st minute. Anderson finished with four saves in 60 minutes for Barton, while Gavin Barclay tallied three saves in the final 30 minutes.

Mount Olive will be either the No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the CVAC Tournament. The Trojans will be on the road for their first-round match which will take place Wednesday. Mount Olive is the host school for the semifinals and championship Oct. 28-29.

Mount Olive finishes up its regular season Saturday as the Trojans play host to Erskine in CVAC action. Saturday's match is Senior Day as eight Trojan seniors -- Ryan Adamski, Ryan Capdepon, Jordan Covington, Mike Garrett, Chris Jasso, Brandon Mills, Erik Small and Charles Williams -- will be honored prior to the game. Match time is 3:30 p.m. at Trojan Field.