Busto’s Hat-trick Powers Golden Eagles Past Bears

Brooklyn, NY| Justin Busto scored three goals as the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's soccer team topped St. Joseph's College (Brkln) 4-1 in Skyline Conference action at Aviator Sports in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening. With the victory, the Golden Eagles improve to 3-8-1 (2-2-1 Skyline), while the Bears fall to 0-8 (0-5 Skyline).

In a first half that saw the guests outshoot the hosts 9-2, the Golden Eagles notched the first goal of the match, when Busto, streaking down the right, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Just over 17 minutes later, senior Enrique Tirado played a searching ball to junior Justin Heredia, who banged home his second goal of the season to give the Golden Eagles the 2-0 lead before heading into halftime.

Despite being heavily outshot in the first half, the Bears managed to match the Golden Eagles in generated corners, as both sides finished the half with one apiece. SJC-LI keeper Avery Gomez did not have to make a save in the first, while his counterpart, Nolan Parr, made four.

Busto waited no time getting on the board in the second half, when he tallied for the second time in the game in the 49th minute following an Eddie Whalen throw in.

The sophomore's hat-trick tallying goal would come in the 60th minute, when Heredia played a through ball on to the forward, who ran past a defender and slid a shot past Parr.

Brooklyn would earn a consolation goal in the 87th minute courtesy of a converted penalty by Beka Goduade.

Despite the win, the Golden Eagles were outshot in the second half 10-9, but maintained the overall match advantage by an 18-12 margin. Gomez and Parr would both finish the match with six saves, while SJC-LI was credited with three corners to Brooklyn's two.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, October 10, when they welcome Mount Saint Mary to Danzi Stadium for a Skyline Conference showdown. Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM. Follow live stats here.