OTTAWA, Kan. - Returning to the lineup after a one-match absence,
Antonio Natalucci made his presence felt with a hat trick as no. 10 Ottawa locked up the no. 2 seed in the KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament with a 7-0 win over Sterling on Saturday.
Ottawa opened the scoring early on Saturday, as
Cale Scott raced down the left wing and sent a booming cross to the top of the six-yard box.
Mateo Trigo was able to slip his defender and find an opening, redirecting the cross past Cassidy Kelly with the outside of his right foot.
Zachariah Martinez and Christopher Jimenez mustered the only two realistic chances of the match for Sterling in the sixth and eighth minutes, respectively, but
Luca Fofonka was well up to the challenge, saving both.
Natalucci nearly put Ottawa up two in the 10th minute, breaking free in the middle but his shot rang off the right post before falling to
Sam Hatswell, who wasn't able to react and convert the rebound.
Tadeo Nunez was able to set Natalucci up slightly better in the 22nd minute, sending a right-footed cross into Natalucci's feet at the top of the 18-yard box. After a controlling touch into space, Natalucci curled a shot to the far post well out of reach of a diving Kelly.
Ottawa collected its third goal of the match on a brisk counterattack, with a long ball springing Scott to the endline just right of goal. He cut back and swung a low cross into a crowd of players at the top of the six-yard box, with Natalucci finishing easily.
Natalucci completed his hat trick in the 48th minute, but the goal was definitely a team effort as the Braves completed nine passes, recycling from the left attacking wing back through Ottawa's back line and into the midfield before the final breakthrough. The final sequence of the goal saw
Matt Myers combine with
Lorenzo Lamola for a quick give-and-go at the midfield line before Myers one-touched a pass to Nunez. Nunez timed his pass perfectly for
Slobodan Novicevic, who outraced his defender down the right wing to the endline and crossed it back for a tap-in by Natalucci on the left post.
Trigo and Scott swapped places on the scoresheet in the 53rd minute, with Scott finishing for his 21st goal of the season, later adding his 22nd on a superb penalty kick finish in the 80th.
Sandwiched between Scott's goals was the first career strike for
Arminas Gecas, a 67th-minute solo effort. He was on the spot in the middle of the pitch to collect a failed clearance attempt by Sterling then carved past three defenders and sent a right-footed shot low to the left post.
With the win, Ottawa finishes the regular season with a 9-1-2 record in KCAC action, earning the no. 2 seed in the conference tournament over Oklahoma Wesleyan by virtue of their 3-0 upset of the Eagles earlier this season. Ottawa will host Southwestern College on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with kickoff at the Dick Peters Sports Complex set for 2 p.m.
