(AZUSA, Calif.) PLNU Men's Soccer trailed Azusa Pacific by two just over eight minutes into the match but stormed back to score five unanswered goals and defeat the Cougars, 5-2, on Tuesday night.
Cole Friesen scored a first half hat trick, with his first two goals coming just 35 seconds apart in the 20th and 21st minutes. He calmly rounded the keeper on his first goal after
Curtis Collazos' through ball before slotting into the far right corner off a
Keoni Young assist to tie the game less than a minute later.
Friesen then gave the Sea Lions a halftime lead, completing his hat trick in the 41st minute with a tidy left-footed finish on the half turn from
Inaki Santamarina's cross.
The forward, who now has a team-leading six goals on the season, is the first Point Loma player in the program's NCAA era to score a hat trick in the first half of a game.
Gael Ruiz doubled PLNU's advantage in the second half, curling a free kick up and over the wall in the 59th minute.
Zack Mercieca, making his first appearance of the season because of injury, rounded out the scoring in the 73rd minute with a right-footed volley from close range off another Santamarina assist.
PLNU's five goals on Tuesday are its most ever scored in a single game against APU.
Point Loma (3-2-1 overall) hosts Westmont on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the team's final non-conference game.
