Foxborough, Mass – The Greenville Triumph put on a dominant performance at Gillette Stadium, winning 3-0 in a July 4th showdown against New England Revolution II. Triumph striker Marios Lomis scored his ninth, tenth and eleven goals on the season, recording the club’s second ever hat trick and the second hat trick in USL League One this season.
In a lively first half of action, the Triumph found the back of the net twice across six minutes on a pair of Marios Lomis goals, good for his second brace of the season. The league-leading goal scorer struck first in the 29th minute after connecting with right back Abdi Mohamed, who returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined with a quad injury last match. Showing a continuously impressive ability to manipulate defenses with his vision off the ball, Lomis’ run through the Revolution II back three was timed perfectly with Mohamed’s targeted delivery to put Greenville up 1-0.
It was Greenville’s ability to transition that led to the most dangerous opportunities throughout the first half, including the opening several minutes for winger Alex Morrell. Playing up top alongside Lomis, Morrell logged Greenville’s first three shots, barely missing one in the 7th on a bending ball towards the back post and creating a quality opportunity for Allen Gavilanes in the 16th minute right outside of the six-yard box.
Co-captain Aaron Walker logged two shots in the first half as well, one leading to a Greenville corner kick and the other leading to Greenville’s second goal of the game. Starting with the pressure from left back Tyler Polak all the way in the attacking third, Polak forced a turnover and found Walker at the top of the box who sent a missile off the crossbar. Lomis picked up the rebound for an easy tap in, making him the first League One player to reach double digit goals this season.
Greenville’s very strong first half pushed into the second as Revolution II struggled to find a rhythm, keeping the ball well at times but not finding much purpose behind possession or enough creativity to break down the Triumph defense. Greenville was patient without the ball, something John Harkes has been reminding his side all season, and did extremely well to stay numbers up in the back, often transitioning into more of a 4-5-1 defensively.
Harkes was able to find key players valuable rest throughout the second half and give subs quality minutes on the pitch. Aaron Walker, however, has played a full 90 minutes, alongside Brandon Fricke, Tyler Polak and Dallas Jaye, for several weeks including today’s match, and it was Walker who delivered the final long ball into Lomis streaking down the left flank. Alone against Collin Verfurth, Lomis cut inside and buried his third from distance, solidifying a Triumph win and increasing his lead in the Golden Boot race.
The afternoon’s quality showing earned the team its first three points since June 16, as they remain in second place in the League One standings. The Greenville Triumph will make its return to the Upstate on Saturday, July 10 for the team’s third matchup with North Carolina FC. Kickoff is at 7:00pm with gates opening at 6:00pm.
