Espinal scores 2nd Hat Trick as Darton punishes Georgia Perimeter
ALBANY – In only the first seventeen minutes of a highly anticipated match with conference-rival Georgia Perimeter College, Darton freshman Darwin Espinal scored. And scored. And then he scored again.
It was his second hat trick in only two games as a Cavalier, and this one put Darton up 3-0 as they cruised to a 4-1 victory against the Jaguars Saturday.
“It’s only the beginning,” said Darton State head soccer coach Bart Sasnett. “That kid’s gonna destroy this league.”
Espinal’s first two goals were aesthetic and precise, but his third was the nail in the coffin. The Fort Lauderdale native just put his hands up after pushing the ball past a troubled goalkeeper as if he was a little surprised himself. The Jaguars didn’t know what hit them, and suddenly they had to try and come back from a three-goal deficit against a program that hasn’t lost a regular season home game in nearly three years.
Goalkeeper Adam Cahill would see that they wouldn’t. The freshman from Choctaw, Fla., stopped 12 of 13 shots on his goal. The Jaguars’ lone goal came from a corner kick in the 87th minute of the match.
Cahill was also credited with an assist. Sophomore midfielder Jorge Chirinos gave two assists as well and sophomore defender Allan Kuhne gave one.
The No. 3 ranked Cavaliers are now 2-0. They’ll play at Thomas University, Wednesday before hosting Eastern Florida State at 7 p.m., Friday.