Hyland’s Hat Trick Fuels AMCATS’ Come-From-Behind Victory

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Anna Maria's Justin Hyland (Leicester, Mass./David Prouty) figured into all four of his team's goals. He tallied the first three goals of the second half to put the AMCATS in front and later recorded an assist on the final goal of the day as the AMCATS rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to post a 4-2 victory over host Mitchell College in non-conference men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The first half was a different story as Mitchell controlled possession and produced multiple scoring chances. The Mariners outshot the AMCATS 13-2 in the stanza and came away with a pair of goals.

Junior Frank Williams (Bradford, R.I./Westerly) scored Mitchell's first goal of the season after classmate Jason Kirby (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) drew a foul just outside the penalty area. On the ensuing free kick, Williams used a quick restart to catch the AMCATS off guard and buried the shot into the right lower corner of the goal to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the 30^th minute.

Kirby made it 2-0 in the 44^th minute with his first score of the season. Junior Taylor Surette (Cheshire, Conn./Watkinson School) threaded a pass through the midfield that Kirby tracked down and then left-footed on goal. Anna Maria keeper Andrew Dahl (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) dove to his left and got his fingertips on the ball, but not enough to keep it out of the side netting.

Anna Maria finally got going in the second half, peppering the goal with more shots in the first five minutes of the period than in the entire first half. Hyland netted his first marker in the 54^th minute off a feed up the middle of the field by Bryan Blomgren (Auburn, Mass./Auburn). The pass shot past a Mitchell defender and was one-touched home by Hyland to make it 2-1.

The AMCATS, who played the final 18:30 with a man advantage, tied the game in the 77^th minute on Hyland's prettiest goal of the day. Jonathan Alicea (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) set up the play with a cross from the right side, and Hyland finished it with a diving header that hit off the far post and bounced in.

Hyland made sure he was in the right place at the right time for his final goal. The AMCATS played a long ball over the top of the Mitchell back line, and a failed clearing attempt left Hyland all alone with a look at the goal. He finished into the left side to put Anna Maria ahead for the first time all day with just under 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

The AMCATS added an insurance goal just over two minutes later to complete the comeback. Hyland found Belwin Koduah (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) on the left side of the 18-yard box, and he slotted a pass to Jamison Crowley (Southington, Conn./Southington) for an easy look from in front of the goal.

Dahl finished with five saves against 20 shots while Mitchell goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby) made two stops against 14 shots.

Mitchell (0-1-0 overall) will next play at Connecticut College on Wednesday, September 4 at 4 p.m. Anna Maria (1-0-0 overall) returns to action at Wheelock College on Saturday, September 7 at noon.

Release Courtesy of Mitchell Sports Information