CALDWELL, Idaho – Joe Bolin recorded his second career hat trick, scoring all three of his goals in the final 45 minutes, as the College of Idaho ended a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Northwest Christian at Simplot Stadium.
The junior broke a tight game open in the 56th minute, hustling into the box and touching a bobbled collection by Beacons (4-8-2, 3-6-1 CCC) keeper Bret Bletscher, and flicking the ball into the open net to give C of I a 3-0 lead.
Nine minutes later, Bolin headed home a great combination – as Joao Cardoso played along ball up the right side to Luis Gomez, who dropped an angled ball into the box to the waiting Bolin. The Coyotes' (6-8, 3-7) leading scorer capped his afternoon with an unassisted goal in the 73rd minute, making a long run down the right side, making a nifty move to elude a defender, and beating Bletcher to the top shelf.
The two teams played fairly even for the majority of the first half, with C of I cracking the scoreboard with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Nate Hunt played a long cross over the top of the goal box, with Riley Smith one-timing a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
C of I quickly made it 2-0 early in the second half, as Bolin made a long run down the right side, playing a cross to the middle of the box to find Gomez, who blasted a shot into the upper netting.
NCU got their lone goal of the game in the 68th minute, as Chris Hendler collected a missed clearance and tucked a line-drive shot into the right corner of the net.
The Yotes held a 15-6 edge in total shots, with NCU recording three of the five corner kicks in the game.
C of I returns to action next Saturday, hosting Northwest University. The 3 p.m. game will be played at Brothers Park (just south of the C of I campus on Indiana Ave.).
