MERCED, Calif. – Daniel Borges recorded a hat trick and the University of California, Merced men's soccer team shutout University of Antelope Valley 3-0 Sunday afternoon on Senior Day.
The Bobcats (10-2-3, 7-2-1) reached double figure wins with the victory, their ninth straight year (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign) winning ten games in a season.
Borges registered his hat trick in a 30-minute stretch, coming off the Bobcats bench and scoring three times before halftime. Borges is the first Bobcat with a hat trick this year and the first since Andres Lua on October 13, 2022.
The Turlock, Calif., native scored his first goal and the eventual game-winning goal in the 23rd minute, rebounding a Cristian Gaona shot that was blocked and lasering his own shot upper 90.
Borges played give and go with Kevin Capetillo to double the Bobcats lead in the 37th minute. Luis Villegas got it up the field to Borges, who then sent it to Capetillo in the box before receiving the ball right back and grounding one past the diving keeper near post.
Two minutes later, Andres Alonso was fouled in the Bobcats defensive third and immediately restarted play with a pass to the center of the park to Thomas Knierieme. Knierieme followed with a long ball down to Borges who took two touches in stride before firing and scoring. Both Alonso and Knierieme earned assists on the score. Alonso's assist was the first of his career, while Knierieme's was his second in as many games.
Borges' hat trick puts him at 12 goals on the year and he becomes the third player since 2020 with 12 or more goals in a campaign, joining Andres Lua and Juan Flores.
The Bobcats outshot UAV 25-5 in the win and 12-3 on target. The Bobcats won the corner kick battle 7-1.
Borges and Capetillo had five and four shots, respectively. Joshua Golka and Knierieme each recorded three shots.
Xavier Barajas nearly scored first for the Bobcats but his header attempt off a corner kick was saved by the Pioneers goalkeeper. Roberto Ceja had a shot hit the post just over five minutes into the second half. Shortly after, Jesus Enriquez was looking to make it 4-0 UC Merced however his shot was kicked away by a Pioneer right on the goal line. UAV keeper Joshua Rojo made a few impressive saves down the stretch to keep the game at 3-0.
Brycen Miller played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bobcats and made two saves in his second consecutive solo shutout. It was Miller's sixth shutout in his career.
With the win, the Bobcats extended their Bobcat Field unbeaten streak to 23 consecutive matches. The Bobcats went 7-0 at home during the regular season this year and scored at least three goals in each outing.
Up next, UC Merced will play at Simpson University for the regular season finale on Saturday, October 28. First touch from Simpson Soccer Field in Redding, Calif., is scheduled for 2:30pm. A UC Merced win clinches a first round bye in November's California Pacific Conference Championships.
