Star Bruin: Chandler Hoffman is in a groove. The UCLA striker netted a hat-trick in a huge California showdown against UC Santa Barbara on Friday that propelled the Bruins to the 3-2 upset victory. Hoffman’s performance gave him at least one goal in five straight games – tying a UCLA record which was eventually snapped in the team’s 1-0 win over San Diego on Sunday. Hoffman now has 13 goals in his last 13 games, signaling that he’s completely back from a fractured leg that shelved him for the first 11 games of 2010. 

Marquee match: South Florida scored a nice victory on Friday when they knocked off No. 9 UC Irvine 2-0. Chris Blais made six saves in goal and the Bulls got scores from Wesley Charpie and Dom Dwyer to hand the Anteaters their first loss of the season. No. 17 South Florida is also the only team to have defeated No. 8 Wake Forest this season, proving they’re a team that knows how to rise to the occasion. 

Jose Perez

18 Seconds: That was how close Drake and UIC came to finishing in a 2-2 tie before our men’s Player of the Week Ivan Stanisavljevic came up with a Golden Goal to send UIC to the dramatic victory on Sunday. But the Bulldogs actually weren’t alone in their heartbreak: UIC pulled a similar number against SIU-Edwardsville on Friday, beating them 3-2 in double overtime on a winner from Jesus Torres in the 103rd minute. Moral of the story? Beat UIC in regulation. 

Still Going: We’re going to keep mentioning Creighton in this weekly review until an opponent steps up and scores against them. For those keeping score at home it’s now six consecutive shutout victories to start the season for the No. 7 Blue Jays – they beat Providence 3-0 on Saturday to keep the streak going. Creighton has matched their best start since 2000 while goalkeeper Brian Holt remains untouched. 

Condolences: It was sad news to learn last week that San Jacinto College player Jose Perez died in a car crash at the age of 18. Perez was a former member of the U.S. U17 National Team and also played in the Development Academy for FC Dallas. The San Jacinto team suspended play immediately following the news and just held a benefit fundraiser for his family this past weekend. Our best goes out to Perez’s family and the San Jacinto College program.