CORVALLIS, Ore.--Gyasi Zardes (R-So., Hawthorne, Calif., Leutzinger HS) recorded his third hat trick of the season to lead CSU Bakersfield (3-0-3) past Gonzaga (2-4) 4-1 Friday afternoon at the Oregon State Hensor/Zaher Nike Classic.

Zardes put the Roadrunners up 1-0 in the 19th minute.  Jesus Sanchez (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Castle Park HS) earned his third assist of the year on the play. 33 seconds into the second half, the 6-1 forward blasted a shot from the 18-yard box past Zags’ goalie Ryan Caballero. A little over 11 minutes later, Zardes (who is the Division I leader in goals per game) posted his 11th tally of the season off a Richard Menjivar (Sr., Panorama, Calif., Univ. of Evansville) pass.

Ernesto Hinjosa (Jr., Tustin, Calif., Tustin HS) made it 4-0 (in the 71st minute) when he scored off a Sanchez corner kick that was headed in front by Chris Widdy (Sr., San Pedro, Calif., San Pedro Senior HS). Gonzaga’s Greg Carter scored in the 85th minute to make it the final 4-1.

The Roadrunners outshot the Zags 14-0 in the first half and 26-6 for the match. The 26 shots are new CSUB Division I record, breaking the old mark of 23 set against Mt. St. Mary’s during the 2009 season. CSUB’s defense proved to be formidable as Widdy and Justin Finch (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Southwest Baptist) blocked three Gonzaga shots while Roadrunner goalie Eric Shannon (Jr., Valencia, Calif., Valencia HS) was out of position.

“We dominated play from the opening whistle, but we missed a lot of chances in the first half,” said CSUB head coach Simon Tobin. “We put the game away in the first 20 minutes of the second half. Chris Widdy and Justin Finch completed a hat trick of clearances off our goalie which was very important.”

CSUB takes on Oregon State Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. to complete the tournament.

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