By Nicholas Fiore and Stan Adamson
It is tough to score goals in any competitive game, especially in the CSL. To score three goals in one game is not impossible, but it sure is hard to do. As we reached this point in the season six players have managed to score the remarkable three goals in one game, which all led their team to victories.
Toronto Croatia’s Tihomir Maletic, Burlington SC’s Vladimir Vujovic and Adis Hasecic, Brantford Galaxy’s Zdenko Jurcevic, Brampton City Utd’s Jonathan Jebbison. York Region Shooters’ Richard West.
Three goals in one game by the same player, has the famous ‘hat-trick’ term attached to it and that’s what these players have achieved.
Canadian fans, and especially soccer fans in the United States, often judge soccer by the goals scored in a game, unlike most other countries where a scoreless draw can be just as attractive if the game is played well.
Ironically, a U.S.A. player, Bert Patenaude, is considered to be the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup game – the July 17, 1930 match between the United States and Paraguay. The youngest player to score a hat-trick in the World Cup was Pele in the 1958 match between Brazil and France. Pele was 17 years old.
Graham Leggat, a Scottish international and former head coach of the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League (later Toronto Metros-Croatia), scored the fastest hat-trick in the English League, three goals in three minutes on December 26, 1963. That record lasted half a century until it was broken by Sadio Mane of Southampton at the end of last season. Today, Leggat lives in the Niagara region of Ontario.
In the CSL, when Toronto Croatia defeated Toronto Atomic FC 4-2 on May 30, Tihomir Maletic opened the scoring for Toronto Croatia with two quick goals at 34 and 35 minutes, a 2-0 lead for the home side at the Loyola HS Stadium in Oakville. Maletic scored a third goal to complete the hat-trick at the 90th minute mark, a 4-2 lead that held to the final whistle.
On Sunday, May 31, Burlington SC crushed Brampton City Utd with a 5-0 score line. Burlington SC hammered five goals before the interval, three by Burlington forward Vladimir Vujovic to complete a hat-trick in the first half. Vujovic opened the scoring for Burlington at the 20th minute mark when he found the net from 20 yards past Brampton goalkeeper Cristian Montero-Valez. The home side went ahead 3-0 at 33 minutes with a second goal by Vujovic, and Vujovic completed a hat-trick from a corner kick, a 4-0 score at the 43rd minute mark.
You would think that Vujovic is done with all the scoring, but on Saturday, June 6 game Burlington SC played against Niagara United, Vujovic scored his second hat-trick in less than a week to play a big part in Burlington’s 8-1 away victory at Niagara United. Vujovic scored in the first half for Burlington, followed by two after the interval in the one-sided affair.
When we all talk about how many goals we may think we would score in a season, Zdenko Jurcevic of Brantford Galaxy probably didn’t he think he would be on the top of the scoring chart. On Wednesday, June 10, Brantford Galaxy completed a solid 3-1 victory over Niagara United and Jurcevic scored a hat-trick.
Niagara took an early 1-0 lead at Lions Park in Brantford, but Jurcevic tied the game 1-1 at 16 minutes and put the home side ahead 2-1 at the interval. Jurcevic then completed his hat-trick to put Brantford 3-1 up at the 59 minute mark. Brantford didn’t need any other player to score as Jurcevic took it into his own hands and scored all three goals for the Galaxy. The goals were numbers 7, 8, and 9 for the season to move the Brantford striker on top of the First Division goal scoring chart.
SC Waterloo didn’t need anyone else to step up to the plate and score goals, because their midfielder did it all for them when they took on Burlington SC on Sunday, June 14.
Midfielder Adis Hasecic scored all three goals to lead SC Waterloo to a 3-0 victory over Burlington SC at Warrior Field in Waterloo. Hasecic opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, finding the net from close in past Burlington goalkeeper Vladimir Vujasinovic. Hasecic made it 2-0 following a miscue in the Burlington defence and it was 2-0 at the interval. The Waterloo forward completed the hat-trick at 47 minutes when he collected a high ball down the middle to drive the ball under Vujasinovic into the net, a 3-0 score that held until the final whistle.
Just one week later on Sunday, June 21 the hat-tricks continued when forward Jonathan Jebbison scored all three goals for Brampton City Utd in the 3-1 defeat of Brantford Galaxy at the Victoria Park ground in Brampton. Following a scoreless tie at the break, Jebbison found the net for the home side at the 53 minute mark and he again beat Brantford goalkeeper Luka Besenic for a 2-0 lead at 66 minutes. Jebbison struck again for his hat-trick at 76 minutes for a 3-0 lead until Zdenko Jurcevic reduced the lead to 3-1, which was the final score at the end of regulation time.
Richard West was the most recent player to score a hat-trick in a York Region Shooters 4-1 defeat of SC Waterloo on July 26. West had his hat-trick off to a quick start with a goal after just three minutes and followed up with goals at 36 minutes and a third just two minutes following resumption of play for the second half.
The season is just past the half-way mark, we can see a lot more hat-tricks, but to already have six players that scored hat-tricks and one player to score a hat-trick in two games is a pretty significant achievement.