JENKINTOWN, PA—Manor College freshman midfielder Asuava Oghenero contributed his first collegiate hat trick in an 18-minute second half span as they defeated Middlesex County College (1-2-0), 4-1.
The Blue Jays scored the only goal if the first half. Manor freshman midfielder Nicholas Martinez passed the ball downfield to fellow freshman midfielder Mason Maglio to the outside right of the 18-yard line. Maglio passed the ball left to freshman forward Zola Makanda and kicked it past Middlesex County freshman goalkeeper Nicholas Hoffman into the left side of the net. It was Makanda's third goal of the season. Martinez registered his second assist of the season and Maglio contributed his first. The Colts outshot the Blue Jays 13 (five on goal) to six (four on goal) in the first half.
The Blue Jays nearly made the score 2-0 in the 54th minute. Hoffman made a save on freshman midfield Ibrahim Abdelghani during a breakaway. Middlesex County sophomore midfielder committed a foul on Oghenero in the 66th minute outside of the 18. Oghenero's direct kick hooked left into the net past Hoffman to give Manor a 2-0 advantage. It was Oghenero's second goal of the season. The Colts closed the deficit to 2-1 in the 67th minute. Sophomore forward's Luiz Rosa's corner kick went to freshman midfielder Alex Herrera. Herrera's header went past sophomore goalkeeper Emanuel Caire into the left side of the side of the net. Caire started the second half for the Blue Jays. Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Valera, who started the game for Manor, replaced Caire in the 69th minute and finished the contest. Sophomore forward Karim Elshoubary committed a foul on Oghenero inside the 18 in the 72nd minute. Oghenero's penalty kick went past Hoffman to expand Manor's lead to 3-1. It was his second goal of the contest and third of the season. Oghenero completed the hat trick, outdueling three Middlesex County defenders and kicked the ball past Hoffman into the right side and gave Manor a 4-1 lead in the 84th minute. The Blue Jays outscored the Colts, 3-1, in the second half en route to the 4-1 victory. Valera got his first collegiate goalkeeping victory. Middlesex County outshot Manor, eight (four on goal) to seven (six on goal), in the second half and 21-13 for the game.
Martinez and sophomore defenseman Damian Schweizer each received the Manor College Hard Hat Award, as selected by the Blue Jays' coaching staff. This Martinez' second consecutive Hard Hat Award of the season.
Series Record: Middlesex County leads the season series, 2-4-1 (since 2005). They are 2-3-0 versus the Colts under Head Coach John Dempster. This was Manor's first home win in this season against Middlesex County. The Blue Jays previously defeated the Colts, 3-1, on October 1, 2011.
Next Game: Manor travels to Region XX Division I Hagerstown Community College (3-0-1) in Hagerstown, Maryland 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 9. This is the first meeting between the two schools. The Blue Jays are 3-2-0 (2-1-0 on the road) versus Region XX programs, all under Dempster. Manor opened the season with a 5-1 road win at Cecil College on August 30.
Next Home Game: Manor hosts Region XX Division I Harford Community College (3-1-1) at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 16. The Blue Jays are 0-1-0 versus the Fighting Owls. Manor lost, 5-2, at Harford on September 25, 2016 in its inaugural meeting. They Blue Jays are 1-1-0 at home versus Region XX schools.