Carver nets natural hat trick (Soccer)
When Seattle Pacific University men’s soccer coach Mark Collings recruited Soldotna’s Blaine Carver he hoped for the best but questioned whether the freshman could make an immediate impact.
“Being up in Alaska, we thought it might take him a little bit of time to get going and get acclimated to the pace of the game here,” Collings told the school’s website.
“But, boy he’s proved us wrong.”
Carver scored his first college goal in his fourth match. Five weeks later he bagged his first hat trick.
The 2009 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year netted three goals in an 18-minute stretch in an 8-1 win over the University of Mary in NCAA D2 action. He found the net in the seventh, 12th and 25th minute for a natural hat trick.
Carver’s first goal when he took the ball into the box one-on-one against the goalkeeper and beat him to the back right corner from 14 yards away. He scored his second goal on a header and his third off a crossing pass.
“Blaine was fantastic early and those first three goals were quality, really, really great goals that set the tone for the night,” the Seattle Pacific coach said.
The Falcons (6-5-2) feature another Alaska player in Liviu Bird of Fairbanks, a backup goalkeeper.
