By Kevin Park
Staff Writer
“It felt great to get a hat trick in the first league game of the season. I’m happy to be on the score sheet again but I’m also happy to help the team out as much as possible to get the win.” senior striker Jordan Jackmon said.
Jackmon scored three goals, leading the Tigers to a 6-0 win Wednesday against Blair. This gave South Pasadena its first league win.
The Tigers dominated in possession from kickoff to their first goal as South Pasadena limited the Vikings to only a few shot attempts. Senior center-mid Ramon Gutierrez sent a through ball up to Jackmon where he made a shot past the goalie. Later in the first half, Gutierrez volleyed the ball to himself and then chipped the ball off a defender’s face, which sent the goalie diving the wrong way allowing him to kick it in. Junior striker James Tulin tried one from beyond the box and banked it in off the right corner post, stretching the lead to 3-0.
“We’ve been training a lot on our finishing for games during practice and it has finally paid off,” junior Tim Hitchcock said. “We had more chances on goal and we just played at the level we should be at.”
In the second quarter, Jackmon came racing down with the ball looking to score. He slowly rounded the box and took a shot with his right foot and scored another goal, making it 4-0. He showed up again to complete his hat trick when Gutierrez lobbed another through ball to Jackmon, allowing him to chip it past the right of the goalie. Finally, senior captain Oscar Jaime scored from a long shot 30 yards out and finished the 6-0 defeat of Blair.
“I think this win really helped our spirits up from the last couple games we had for pre-season,” junior mid Oskar Hernandez said. “I think that winning our first season game with such a large margin will give us a confidence boost into our next game vs LC.”
Next league game will be on Friday, January 16 against La Cañada on the South Pasadena Baseball Field.
