HOBOKEN, N.J. – Emerson Kekesi recorded his first collegiate hat trick for the Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team in a dominating 5-1 MAC Freedom victory over DeSales Wednesday night from DeBaun Athletic Complex.
Kekesi recorded the program's first hat trick since
Adam Berrocal on October 14, 2023, also against DeSales, as Stevens (6-3-6, 4-1-2 MACF) set a new season-high for goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ducks came out firing on all cylinders, putting three on the board inside the first 20 minutes. First, in the seventh minute,
Joseph Pinho played a ball wide of the 18-yard box for
Ethan Hagen, who one-touched a cross into a crashing
Matthew Murillo, who tucked one in the left corner past DeSales keeper Jimmy Shensky as Shensky was drifting back toward the middle of the net.
Less than three minutes later, Hagen again found himself in the middle of the action, taking possession at midfield and dribbling to inside 25 yards where he played it ahead for
Ben Goldberg. Goldberg, as Hagen had done two minutes prior, one-touched a cross to Kekesi, who went high to beat Shensky.
Just under 10 minutes after Kekesi's first, Pinho played a through ball in for Goldberg. With his momentum starting to take him away from the goal, Goldberg played a cross to the center of the box, about 10 yards out, where
Dylan Falcone came charging in from the top of the 18, just beating Shensky and a pair of Bulldog defenders to the ball, and calmly put the ball in the back of the net.
That 3-0 lead remained as such until the 66
th minute when Kekesi delivered a highlight-reel goal, blasting a rainbow from one step inside midfield, catching Shensky well off his line.
Kekesi turned his brace into a hat trick in the 79
th minute, curving one just inside the left post from the opposite corner of the 18-yard box.
The Bulldogs spoiled the potential shutout in the final minute of play off a corner kick.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kekesi's hat trick came on his only three shots of the night
- Stevens also set a season-high with eight assists and tied its season-high with nine shots on goal
- Pinho, Goldberg, and Hagen all finished with two assists, giving Stevens six players with multiple points on the evening
- Joseph Conte, Jordan Herrera, Dion Ramani, and Aden Parikh all made just their third appearances of the season
- Hagen played 82 minutes, his first time in his last seven matches not playing the full 90
UP NEXT
Stevens wraps the regular season Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM on the road at Delaware Valley.
#AllRise
