Walpole Uses Head to Help Bury Aggies

Box Score
MADISON, N.J. (September 29, 2010) - Sophomore Kevin Walpole (Newark, Del./Sanford School) not only scored his first career goal but his first three career goals in a 5-0 rout of Delaware Valley tonight.

Walpole's scored the first three goals of the non-conference contest to help Drew improve to 8-1 on the year. The first two goals were almost exact replicas of each other just with different teammates on the passing end. Just 6:27 into the game senior Matthew Greenberg (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Indian Hills) took a corner kick from the near side that the 6-1Walpole put into the the back of the net.

At the 18:37 mark it was Phil Mabika (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) this time that found Walpole off  one of the Rangers 15 corner kicks on the day to make the score 2-0. Walpole would complete the hat trick with a little under eight minutes to go in the half when Kevin Veliz (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) crossed a ball just outside the 18 for the third goal of the contest.

The Rangers would tally one more goal before going into the half when Chris Gibaldi (Ridgefield, N.J./Ridgefield Memorial) got a pass from Adrian Kawuba (Watertown, Mass./Lexington Christian Academy) and beat the keeper who came up to challenge the ball.

Walpole was not the only Drew soccer player to get his first collegiate goal, as Zach Maas (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter School) tallied the game's only second-half goal off a pass from Nicholas Callari (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan). In a game of firsts, Callari's assist was the first collegiate point of the sophomore's career.

Jeff Rogers (Eldensburg, Md./Century) saw most of the action in goal and made four saves on the night. He was relieved in the 78th minute by Paul Richter (Garrison, N.Y./Haldane) who made one save to help preserve the team's fourth shutout of 2010.

Walpole becomes the first men's soccer player to record a hat trick since 2007 when Shahyar Shroff scored three goals against the College of Staten Island.

The Rangers will hit the road to take on Goucher College in a the team's second Landmark Conference match on Saturday at 3:30. The Gophers suffered a 1-0 setback to the Aggies earlier this year.