(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.)
Emmett Layman scored a hat trick to lift top-seeded PLNU Men's Soccer into the PacWest Tournament championship with a 4-1 victory over fourth-seeded Fresno Pacific in the conference semifinals on Thursday.
Layman scored his first two from the penalty spot before completing his hat trick late in the second half and setting up
Oz Rocca to round out the scoring.
His first came just 26 seconds into the match, when
Inaki Santamarina was brought down in the box before Layman scored the second-fastest goal in program history.
The Sunbirds equalized in the 15th minute, which made it a 1-1 game going into the half.
PLNU then scored three goals in the final 19 minutes to run away with the victory and find the back of the net against FPU four times in a game for the second time in five days.
In the 72nd minute,
Curtis Collazos was fouled inside the area before Layman stepped up once again to bury his spot kick.
Layman then tallied his third of the game in the 83rd with a simple left-footed finish, after
Gael Ruiz found
Zack Mercieca in behind the defense to square it across goal for Layman to slot home.
The junior forward nearly scored a fourth, but had his shot saved into the path of Rocca to knock home with less than a minute remaining.
Point Loma (14-3-1 overall) ties its NCAA-era program record for wins in a season, equaling the Sea Lions' 14 wins in 2017.
PLNU will play third-seeded Hawai'i Hilo in Saturday's conference tournament championship at noon at Santa Barbara City College's La Playa Stadium. The Vulcans were the only team to defeat the Sea Lions in PacWest play this season.
