Nick Simmonds pulled off a rare hat trick – the first for a UVA Soccer team since 2012 – to key a 4-0 win over Clemson on Saturday night at Klöckner Stadium.
Simmonds also assisted on a goal in the win for the #11 ‘Hoos (9-1-4, 4-0-3 ACC).
The freshman got on the board early, in the fourth minute, off a pass from Jesus De Vicente that he converted from 18 yards out.
In the 15th minute, Simmonds directed the ball out on the wing to De Vicente, who played a long, curling pass that skipped to the feet of Marco Dos Santos. Taking a touch around the keeper, Dos Santos rolled his chance into the back of the net for 2-0.
Virginia stretched its lead to three in the 24th minute when Albin Gashi made a sliding effort to keep possession and play the ball to Simmonds outside the penalty area. After a clever touch around his defender, Simmonds tucked his chance inside the far post to secure his second multi-goal game of the season.
Simmonds secured his hat trick in the 77th minute. After an impressive run through the penalty area, Alex Parvu send a low ball across the face of goal, where Simmonds was there to tap it home for 4-0.
UVA coach George Gelnovatch had nothing but praise for Simmonds, who leads the ‘Hoos in goals (with eight) this season as a freshman.
“It’s hard to come in here, have two weeks of preseason as a first-year, and all of a sudden score goals. He had a whole spring here, he’s a really talented guy, and we have a really good team. When you put all of that together, you’ve got a guy that’s scoring a lot of goals,” Gelnovatch said.
Simmonds noted that the last UVA player to score a hat trick was Will Bates, who was Simmonds’ U-15 coach.
“I’ll definitely shoot him a text after the game. I knew he had the last hat trick, and it was a goal of mine to break it,” Simmonds said. “All my family is here supporting me, extended and immediate. I love all of them, and to have their support means the world to me. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
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Chris Graham
