Mitchell’s hat trick lifts Huskies past Tigers, 4-2
The boys varsity soccer team defeated Blue Valley by a score of 4-2. Junior Andrew Mitchell scored three goals for the Huskies, notching him a hat trick.
September 23, 2020
The Huskies entered the game with momentum on defense after shutting out St. Thomas Aquinas in the second half of their last game. The momentum carried over and allowed the Huskies to shut out the Tigers in the first half as well. A big part of their defense is junior centerback Yousif Radhi who said they were expecting this kind of effort.
“Honestly with the way we played in the last game I thought it was something we expected of ourselves,” Radhi said.
After a goal from junior Andrew Mitchell, the Huskies would take a 1-0 lead going into the half. Head coach Brian Pollack said he told his team the lead wasn’t safe at the half.
“We told them that 1-0 is the most uncomfortable lead in soccer and we knew how well coached Blue Valley is, we knew they’d come cracking and make adjustments,” Pollack said.
Giving his team a bigger cushion, senior Will Vancrum would extend the Huskies lead by scoring a goal of his own to make the score 2-0. With 16 minutes left in the game, the Tigers would answer with a goal of their own. Radhi said the team wasn’t ready for the aggressiveness the Tigers came out with.
“After we scored our own goals, they came out running around and we weren’t ready for that,” Radhi said.
Responding less than a minute later, Mitchell would give the Huskies a two goal lead back, scoring his second goal of the night. Pollack said Mitchell knew he was going to have a big game.
“Certain players just get dialed in and he sensed it and said it from five minutes in, ‘coach I’m wide open. I’m gonna have a hayday,” Pollack said. “And then he capitalized on his opportunities.”
After another goal from Blue Valley, Mitchell would score his third goal of the night with two minutes remaining, giving him the hat trick and sealing the game, 4-2. Mitchell said it felt good to get the hat trick against an opponent like Blue Valley.
“It felt amazing especially against Blue Valley and our second EKL win is huge,” Mitchell said.
Starting the season 2-1, Mitchell said after losing their first game they have done a good job of bouncing back and winning two straight.
“We started off really sloppy against Rockhurst but we’ve really bounced back and worked well as a team,” Mitchell said.
