Walter’s hat-trick fuels Pioneers’ 8-0 shutout over Rockford
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Junior defender Matt Walter of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s soccer team doubled his career total Sunday afternoon in a single game after logging three goals in the 8-0 victory over Rockford University. The Pioneers improve to 3-2-0 overall while Rockford falls to 1-3-0 after the match up in Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rockford
(1-3-0, 0-0-0)
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Wis.-Platteville
(3-2-0, 0-0-0)
|
5 | 3 | 8 |
Team Stats
Rockford
| Game Statistics | Rockford | Wis.-Platteville |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 3 (2) | 41 (27) |
| Saves | 15 | 2 |
| Fouls | 7 | 10 |
| Corner Kicks | 0 | 7 |
| Offsides | 0 | 2 |
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Junior defender Matt Walter of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's soccer team doubled his career total Sunday afternoon in a single game after logging three goals in the 8-0 victory over Rockford University. The Pioneers improve to 3-2-0 overall while Rockford falls to 1-3-0 after the match up in Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
Tallying three goals in a 17-minute span, Walter's hat-trick is the first for the Pioneers since Logan Rinderknecht's three-goal game against Carthage College in the First Round of the NCAA DIII Tournament on November 9, 2018.
"That is the first time we played a quality full 90-minute game," said Director of Soccer Sam Koenig. "That must be the standard as we continue on this season."
The goal brigade stated around the 9th minute when a corner kick from sophomore Jack Gentilli was headed in by Walter for his first goal of the season.
Freshman Marcelo Garay extended the Pioneers' lead to 2-0 in the 13th minute. Four minutes later Gentilli connected once again with Walter to increase the lead to 3-0.
In the 26th minute Walter completed the hat-trick and was assisted by freshman Quincy Ott.
The Pioneers added one more goal in the first period when freshman Clayton Mobile passed to freshman Jacob Keller to increase the lead to 5-0 in the 34th minute.
Gentilli and Walter revitalized their dynamic in the second half and this time an assist by Walter to Gentilli less than a minute into the period increased the lead to 6-0.
Garay logged another goal in the 49th minute with an assist by freshman Lucas Schoeneberg while sophomore Cayden Carlson wrapped up the scoring with an assist by Keller to round out the Pioneers' eight goals.
UW-Platteville logged 41 shots with 27 on goal while Rockford managed to tally just three shots with two on goal.
Eight goals in a single game is the most for the Pioneers since a 9-0 victory at Cornell College in 2013.
Freshman Chase Werner tallied two saves while Rockford's Maverick Attwood accumulated 15 saves.
The Pioneers will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 15 when they travel to Millikin University with game time set for 5 p.m.