After an exhilarating 1-0 victory over Bowdoin last weekend with the winning goal in the final minutes, the men’s soccer team kept their momentum going Wednesday night by dominating the Springfield College Pride, with a final score of 3-1. The Cardinals did so largely on the strength of a hat trick by Keisuke Yamashita ’10, the first hat trick by a Wesleyan player since Brandon Smith ’07 in 2004.

Yamashita scored all three of his goals within a span of three minutes and 30 seconds, starting with his first tally at the 9:48 mark of the first half. Not only was this a great boost for a squad looking to capture momentum on the road, but it was also the fourth fastest recording of a hat trick in Division III history, with the record coming in at an impressive 1:09 back in 1992. When the fireworks were done at Springfield on Wednesday night, the score read 3-0 in favor of the Cardinals as the clock had only run for 13:18.

The team obviously appreciated the scoring outburst.

“[Yamashita’s] ridiculous performance last night is just a testament to the talent we have on this team,” said Tim Dodds ’11. “It’s clear that the kid does his talk through actions on the field, because I’ll pass him on our dorm floor and I’ll be lucky to get a word or two out of him.”

After scoring the first goal at 9:48, the next came under two minutes later at the 11:13 mark to give the Cards a decisive 2-0 lead. To close out the memorable night, Yamashita kicked his third of the night home at 13:18 off a nice feed from co-captain Ozzie Parente, ’09, giving Wesleyan the commanding 3-0 lead.

While Yamashita and the offense provided the fireworks, the defense was equally impressive. The Cards held Springfield to just one goal, which came early on in the second half. It was the first career start and win for goaltender Nick Boskovich ’10, who was solid in net with four saves. The defense was up to the task from the opening whistle, holding its opponent to just seven shot opportunities, only five of which were on net.

While the defense was stellar, though, the night belonged to Yamashita. With the hat trick, he was able to energize his team and carry it to an important road victory. The Cards will need to build on this momentum this coming weekend as they take on its always dangerous NESCAC rival Middlebury College Panthers in Vermont on Saturday. Wesleyan has only defeated the Panthers once in their last 12 meetings.

Look for a tight contest this weekend, and hopefully some more magic from Yamashita, or as his teammates call him, the “scoring genius.”

“Yamashita lived up to his nickname—’The Japanese Genius’—in the first 15 minutes of the match on Wednesday night,” said Nick Whipple ’10.

Hopefully for the Cardinals, Yamashita will be able to pull some more rabbits out of his hat this weekend.