Acosta's Second Half Hat Trick Leads V-Hawks over Red Hawks

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Men's Soccer team defeated Indiana University-Northwest 4-0 in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) matchup on Saturday afternoon. The V-Hawks improve to 6-3-5 (3-2-2 CCAC), while the Red Hawks fall to 3-9-1 (1-6-0 CCAC).

Santiago Tellez started the match with a pair of shots getting blocked, and two corner kicks. Johan Hamnstrom would be the first one to record a shot on goal in the 11^th minute, followed by Tellez and Sebastian Acosta, but all would be saved by Red Hawks goalie Jared Hecimovich. IUNW would have their first attempt on target in the 32^nd minute, but Ernesto Ascenzo was there for the save. Conner Erdmann ended the half with a shot hitting the crossbar.

The V-Hawks kept the pressure on IUNW to start the second half, as eight early shots on goal were saved, six coming from Nicolas Lopez. Acosta finally found the net on an unassisted goal in the 67^th minute, and Lopez found him again three minutes later to extend the lead to 2-0. Acosta stayed hot, scoring another unassisted goal at 77:15, and Lopez added the final score on a penalty kick in the 79^th minute. The defense held, not allowing another shot by the Red Hawks, and Erdmann had a final attempt in the 87^th minute be saved.  

Acosta's hat trick led the V-Hawks while Lopez had seven of his nine attempts land on goal. Ernesto Ascenzo (W, 5-2-5) had two saves, while Jared Hecimovich (L, 3-7-1) had 14.

The V-Hawks return to action on Wednesday, October 18 at Roosevelt University (Ill.).