Elias' Hat Trick Leads Pirates in 6-0 Victory

Friday, August 30

Whippany, N.J.

6 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Central Connecticut State

Stephen Elias Celebrates with Eden O'Leary

8/30/2019 9:13:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE

Whippany, N.J. - Graduate student Stephen Elias (Rye, N.Y.), playing in his first career game for the Seton Hall men's soccer team, scored a hat trick and needing fewer than 59 minutes to do it as the Pirates dominated from start to finish in a 6-0 victory over Central Connecticut State in the 2019 opener Friday night at Red Bulls Training Facility. In total, nine different Pirates notched at least one point as The Hall posted its highest goal output since a 6-2 win over Penn on Sept. 3, 2007.

Turning Point
Seton Hall didn't take long to turn on the offense, generating numerous shots early, and it was a beautiful cross from senior Carlton McKenzie (Birmingham, England) into the box, where Elias easily sailed the ball into the net in the 15th minute to put the Pirates on top. Less than five minutes later, after Central Connecticut was rung up for a yellow card, sophomore JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) dropped his free kick into the box, and freshman Eden O'Leary (Tel Aviv, Israel) deflected the ball into the net for the 2-0 advantage. The Hall never looked back.

SHARE THE WIN! We scored our most goals in a match since 2007 & congrats to Stephen Elias on the hat trick! Great start to the year! #HALLin 🔵⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/NKELPE2ZC2
— SHU Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 31, 2019

Goals Scored

14:59 1st half - Stephen Elias (1) from Carlton McKenzie & JP Marin
18:52 1st half - Eden O'Leary (1) from JP Marin
38:02 1st half - Andrea Borg (1)
50:04 2nd half - Stephen Elias (2) from Denis Kelmendi
58:29 2nd half - Stephen Elias (3) from James Boote
80:30 2nd half - Cyrus Darvish (1) from Sean MacLeod

Check out Eden O'Leary's goal, the 2nd of our 3 in the first half! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/N27XDsKihw
— SHU Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 30, 2019

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall had a distinct advantage in shots over Central Connecticut State, 28-8, including 11-3 on goal.
Elias tallies a hat trick in his first career Seton Hall match, scoring three in the first 59 minutes.
Marin picked up his first two career assists. He scored one goal his freshman year in 2018.
Three freshmen all scored their first career goals: O'Leary, Borg and Darvish.
In total, freshmen accounted for eight points on the night.
Junior goalkeeper Andreas Nota (Rome, Italy) made three easy saves to account for his fourth career clean sheet.

News & Notes

Seton Hall improves to 2-0-0 all-time against Central Connecticut State. The two teams had not met since 1986.
The Pirates have now won their season opener in back-to-back years under head coach Andreas Lindberg, and they won their first home opener since a 2014 victory over UMass Lowell.
The Hall's six goals were the most scored by the program since a 6-2 win over Penn on Sept. 3, 2007.

Up Next
The Hall heads south next weekend for a pair of games in Florida. The Pirates face Florida Gulf Coast Friday at 7 p.m., and Florida International Sunday at 7 p.m.