PITTSBURG,CA--- Andrew Byrne was the story Wednesday night for Miramonte as the completion of his hat trick in the last 10 minutes of the game lifted the Matadors to a 3-2 victory over Berean Christian, in the Winter Soccer Classic.
After tying the game with 17:38 left, and getting two goals under his belt, Byrne cut through defenders and found the back of the net with a left foot finish, scoring three unanswered goals for the Matadors, who overcame a 2-0 deficit against the Eagles.
“I'm very happy,” described Byrne about his performance. “Most importantly, the team won and hopefully we can progress and advance in the tournament.”
Berean started off with a bang in the beginning of the game, when senior Caleb Onofrei scored just 30 seconds into the match. Later, a penalty was called for Berean, and while the Matadors goalkeeper made the block, the Eagles’ Jake Sodergen was there to lace the rebound into the goal.
Byrne’s first goal came off an assist by Ross Gruen, where he pinged it off the post and it crossed the goal line enough for the linesman to call it a goal. They still trailed 2-1.
“His goal showed that we were still in the game,” said Miramonte coach Masood Ahmadi. “From there he was on a hot streak.”
While the seeding of the next round is yet to be released, their next scheduled opponent is San Marin, who they will host December 13 at 7 PM. Berean will face Miramonte again on January 6, 2017.
