Junior Jake Breitegan recorded his first collegiate hat trick to lift the Emory University men's soccer team to a 4-0 drubbing of Pfeiffer University Friday night in the opener of the John P. Salamone Invitational, hosted by Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.
Breitegan was one of two goal scorers for the Eagles on the evening as Emory returned to the win column and moved to 4-1-1 on the season while the defeat was the first of the campaign for the Falcons.
In the first half, the Eagles notched a pair of strikes with Breitegan scoring his first of his night's trio in the 15th minute off the feed from Jeremiah Cateau. In the 36th minute, Vincent Maraschiello found the back of the net for the second time this season with transfer Justin Buchwalter notching his first point in an Emory uniform.
Leading 2-0 at the break, Breitegan doubled the Eagles' advantage in the second half as he scored in the 56th and 87th minutes. His second tally came off the double assist from Prescott Byman and Walker Stebbings while Zachary Blacher contributed with the feed on the evening's fourth marker.
For the game, Emory outshot Pfeiffer 13-4 including an 8-2 margin in shots on goal. Senior Geoffrey Halpern picked up a pair of saves to record his first clean sheet of the season.
The Eagles will look to sweep the John P. Salamone Invitational on Sunday as they face McMurray at 11:00 AM.
