Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kenny Hogg scored four goals to complete the coveted hat trick and Palm Beach Atlantic University took advantage with an extra man on the field for the majority of the game to down the Eckerd College men's soccer team on Saturday, 5-2.
Anthony Arico and Matt Knight each scored shorthanded goals for the Tritons (5-3, 0-1), who were handcuffed down a man for nearly 65 minutes after being assessed a red card on the near sideline in the first half.
Hogg scored three times in a 13-minute span and was a one-man wrecking crew for the Sailfish (4-3 overall), who also had a score from the leg of Gabe Carneiro.
The PBA forward split the Tritons' defense and pulled up to drop a floater over charging EC goalkeeper Toni Virtanen for his first tally. Hogg was onside as he took a feed from Lewis Thompson across the field and placed it in the net in the fifth minute.
The Sailfish added to their lead 18 minutes later on a long cross from the left corner as Carneiro cashed in on what might as well have been a set piece for a 2-0 lead.
Arico trimmed the deficit to one shortly before halftime, maneuvering his way around several Palm Beach defenders with nifty footwork before launching a 20-yard rocket that drilled the back of the net.
It marked Arico's second goal of the season.
Knight made his presence felt around the goal with his eighth score of the season, a total that ranks tied for second among all Sunshine State Conference members. He converted a header off a corner kick from Daniel Lopez at the 78:39 mark.
Knight is knotted with Florida Southern College's Zach Hofstetter at eight apiece for runner-up in the goals department. Together, they trail Barry University's Mark Anderson, who has scored 11.
But Hogg dealt another blow to the Tritons' comeback hopes with under a minute to go before the intermission, blasting another long shot top shelf from about 25 yards out.
Virtanen made back-to-back instinctive diving saves on Hogg point blank in front of the net, but his third try was a charm as he scored in the 52nd minute unassisted from his own deflections.
The Tritons wrap up their current four-game homestand on Wednesday, hosting Saint Leo University in league play at 7 p.m.
