Greenville, SC – After three long weeks on the road, Greenville Triumph SC returned back to the Upstate and were rewarded after a two-hour rain delay with a Carlos Gomez hat trick to send FC Tuscon home with nothing but dwindling playoff hopes.
Despite waiting almost two hours to take the field for warm-ups, Greenville showed no signs of easing into the match with three goals coming in the first 30 minutes of action.
Triumph forward Carlos Gomez netted his first goal of the night early into the match (13′) and followed it less than ten minutes later (21′) when he capitalized on a Carlos Merancio Valdez error.
Co-captain Aaron Walker scored his third goal of the 2019 season and put the nail in Tucson’s coffin after burying a penalty kick acquired by JJ Donnelly in the 26′ minute.
Triumph history was made in the 87′ minute when Carlos Gomez scored the club’s first-ever hat trick, finishing a deflected JJ Donnelly cross. The goal was Gomez’s fifth on the season.
The onslaught of Triumph goals was enough to shake any Tucson momentum throughout the night, as the Triumph defense held steady and earned their 13th clean sheet of the year behind League One Player of the Month Dallas Jaye.
“I’m very happy and that’s all I can say. It is such an honor to have the first hat trick in the club’s history. At the end of the day, I’m very happy because of the club’s win. I think this win pushes us forward the rest of the season. This win is massive, it’s massive,” said Carlos Gomez about his historic night and what it means for the Triumph moving forward.
With Dallas Jaye’s clean sheet, fans can receive $3 off a Top Wash at FINS Car Wash on Sunday. Because of the Gomez hat trick, fans will also receive 30% off online merchandise now through Sunday with the code HATTRICK30. Ticket holders for tonight’s match will be allowed to exchange their tickets for the 9/20 or 9/27 match. Additional details will be announced by the club next week.
Join us back at Legacy Early College for Hispanic Heritage Night on September 20th vs Toronto FC II. Happy Hour begins at 5:30 pm, gates open at 6:00 pm and kickoff is at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
STATS
Shots (on goal):
Greenville – 18 (5)
Tucson – 10 (1)
Possession:
Greenville: 52%
Tucson: 48%
Corners:
Greenville – 6
Tucson – 5
Scoring Summary:
Greenville: C. Gomez (13′, 21′, 87′), A. Walker (26′)
Tucson: N/A
Misconduct Summary:
Greenville: J. Donnelly – 84′ (caution)
Tucson: K. Hanlin – 25′ (caution), J.C. Terron – 82′ (caution)
Ejection Summary:
N/A
