Scoring three goals in a game is an unusual feat, but a player scoring three straight without interuption is truly rare. Jorge Cedillo performed the natural hat trick on Tuesday night as the Pasadena City College men's soccer team blanked host College of the Canyons, 3-0.
The Lancers extended their undefeated streak to five games (3-0-2) as they are trying to keep up with their PCC women's soccer counterpart (current 10-game unbeaten streak) in a successful pre-conference for both programs.
PCC is 5-2-2 under head coach Francisco Cantero, who is part of both teams as he is an assistant coach to Lancers women's HC Terryn Soelberg.
Against COC (5-6), Cedillo scored just 22 seconds before halftime on a penalty kick that proved to be the game-winning goal. In the 76th minute, he headed in a free kick by Jose Perez for his second score. Then in the final minute, the freshman midfielder out of Blair High netted his third goal with a monster free kick blast that snuck into the top left corner of the cage from 40 yards away. There were no hats thrown on to the field like fans do on to the ice in hockey, but the players celebrated Cedillo's achievement with a group hug.
Cedillo is the second Lancer to score a hat trick this season as Angel Nolasco had three in the team's 4-2 win over Orange Coast on Sept. 15. It's just the fourth time a PCC player has scored three times in a game since 2011, but now three in a span of 10 games going only back to the 2022 season finale when Esai Matchan performed the trick.
"The guys stayed very organized against a direct and physical Canyons team," Cantero said. "Our back line played a huge game as Jorge, Chris Amador, Edgar Pineda, Alek Kaprielian and Eduardo Sanchez were all great defensively for us. Happy for Jorge to also score three and all in different ways."
Another top player was goalie William Southam, who made 10 saves for his and the team's second consecutive shutout. In fact, the Lancers have scored an impressive 14 unanswered goals since trailing LA Pierce, 4-2, in a 4-4 tie on Sept. 19. PCC blanked Imperial Valley, 9-0, on Sept. 22.
On Friday, Sept. 29, the Lancers will be tested when it travels to face state #10-ranked San Bernardino Valley in a 6 p.m. game.