BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Ignacio Alconchel scored a hat trick as Tusculum University defeated Lees-McRae College 4-2 in non-conference men's soccer action Tuesday afternoon at Tate Field.
Alconchel scored in the 25th, 60th and 88th minutes for the Pioneers (1-1-0) to become the first Tusculum player to score three goals in a game since Henrique Devens against Coker on Oct. 27, 2019. His third goal came directly off the restart after the Bobcats (0-1-1) pulled within 3-2 on a goal by Nate Phillips with 2:30 remaining.
Adam O'Sullivan also scored for the Pioneers, who were outshot 22-13 by the Bobcats including a 15-5 margin in the second half. Tusculum keeper Bruno De Freitas finished with 11 saves, with eight saves coming in the second half.
The Pioneers opened the scoring at 8:40 as a free kick from Michele Di Miele went to the head of a driving O'Sullivan, who beat Bobcat keeper Joshua Garvilla for a 1-0 lead.
Tusculum nearly went up 2-0 in the 12th minute as a blast from straight on by Jean-Pierre Vital went off the hand of Garvilla and off the crossbar. Lees-McRae's first shot came in the 16th minute, as Harrison Watts broke in but was met by De Freitas, who knocked the ball out of bounds.
The Pioneers extended their lead at 24:40 as Vital dribbled along the goal line and fed Alconchel in front, who had an open net for his first goal of the afternoon.
Tusculum looked poised to take a two-goal lead into halftime, but a free kick to Lees-McRae resulted in a pass from 30 yards by Fletcher Dyson to a cutting Gray Smith, who brought the Bobcats within 2-1 with just over a minute left in the half.
Early in the second half, the Bobcats came up with a turnover in the Pioneer end and nearly tied the match, but O'Sullivan cleared a shot off the line from Lees-McRae's Watts to preserve the 2-1 Tusculum lead.
Alconchel notched his second goal of the afternoon with 30:14 to go as he sneaked a free kick from the top of the 18 around the box and past Garvilla for a 3-1 Tusculum lead.
De Freitas came up big for the Pioneers in the 62nd minute as he got a hand on a shot by the Bobcats' Zach Aversano off a corner kick, which caromed off the crossbar. He added another great save on Johannes Oeksnevad following a throw-in in the 64th minute, and made back-to-back stops on Phillips and Daniel Garvilla in the 76th minute.
With time bleeding away, the Bobcats gained life with 2:30 left as Phillips collected a rebound and scored to cut the Pioneer lead to 3-2. On the ensuing kickoff, Alconchel drilled the ball directly downfield 60 yards and into the goal for the hat trick and a 4-2 Tusculum advantage.
Joshua Garvilla finished with three saves in goal for the Bobcats, who had a slim 8-7 advantage in corner kicks over the Pioneers. A total of 32 fouls were whistled and eight cards were handed out during the match.
Tusculum will finish its non-conference schedule with a visit to Lee on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.
