For the second consecutive game the Wabash soccer team got a hat trick to pick up a victory.
Bayden Lee scored his first career three-goal game in the Little Giants 3-1 win over Mount St. Joseph Tuesday afternoon.
Lee joined North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Week and teammate
Jacques Boulais with three-goal efforts in a game this season. Boulais tallied three goals against Hiram on Saturday, including the game-winning score in overtime.
Lee notched his first goal in the 23rd minute, collecting a pass from
Kyle Holmer after
Christian Stiverson found Holmer in the right corner. Holmer hit Lee with the pass in stride and the senior forward buried the shot for his first goal of the night and second of the season. The Little Giants held the 1-0 lead at halftime before Lee struck again in the 51st minute.
Alexiz Arellano split the Mount St. Joseph (3-5-1) defense with a pass to Lee who outraced the defenders and drilled a shot to the far left post for his second goal of the evening.
Lee's hat trick came in the 83rd minute after Seth Freppon scored his fifth goal of the season for the Lions to trim the Wabash lead to 2-1.
Mohamed Ndour began a quick transition with a pass to
Justin Kopp, whose quick touch found Lee moving to the right side of the pitch. Lee took two dribbles then laced a shot toward the upper-left corner of the goal for his fourth of the season.
Lee had two more shots narrowly miss going in, drilling one try off the left post and another off the cross bar. He had a third attempt just go wide of the goal. He finished the contest with eight shots and four shots on goal.
"We played well today," Wabash assistant soccer coach
Ian Hatleli said. "Bayden had a couple of additional opportunities that hit the post.
Stojan Krsteski and couple of our other players had good chances, as well. We did a good jobe of breaking Mount St. Joseph down in the final third."
Wabash outshot the Lions 27-to-8 and held a nine shots-on-goal advantage compared to three by MSJ.
Bayden Lee's younger brother,
Demitri Lee, earned the victory in goal by recording two saves to improve to 3-1 for the season.
The victory was the fifth in a row for Wabash (7-2) and marked the final non-conference game of the 2017 season. The Little Giants return to action at home Sunday at 1 p.m. against NCAC foe Allegheny College.
