Thursday, July 11, 2013
FRESNO, Calif. -- Midfielder Robert Garcia netted a hat trick to help the Fresno Fuego remain undefeated by rolling past the OC Blues Strikers 5-0 on Thursday at Chukchansi Park. The victory clinched the PDL's Southwest Division for the Fuego with two games remaining in the regular season, while the three goals for Garcia were his first tallies of the season.
The Fuego opened the scoring in the 11th minute after the Strikers cleared a Fuego corner kick, Fresno defender Eddie Gutierrez headed the ball back into the penalty area. Fellow defender Nick Murphy found the loose ball and whirled it into the upper left corner of the net to give the Fuego a 1-0 lead.
Garcia then scored three consecutive goals, the first coming in the 35th minute as he finished a pass by Dylan Murphy from close range. Garcia added his second goal on a breakaway in the 51st minute, and then capped his hat trick in the 67th minute.
Alex Caceres capped the match's scoring in the 83rd minute with a goal from near the top of the six-yard box. The victory kept the Fuego in the lead for the best record in the Western Conference, and also in contention for the regular-season PDL championship, where they trail the Central Conference's Thunder Bay Chill by one point.
Fresno wraps up its home schedule on Saturday against the Southern California Seahorses. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT.