Boys soccer: Miguelangel Pena’s hat trick leads Dundee-Crown to 4-2 win over Hampshire

HAMPSHIRE – Miguelangel Pena finally broke through against Hampshire on Thursday night.

The Dundee-Crown attacker had been the focal point for many opponents’ defenses so far this season and didn’t get the chances to score the way he wanted.

Pena turned that around against the Whip-Purs, tallying a hat trick to help the Chargers win their Fox Valley Conference opener, 4-2.

“I feel like I can do that every game,” Pena said. “Today, it worked in my favor.”

Pena opened the scoring when he made a cut toward the net and created a one-on-one matchup with Hampshire goalkeeper Kevin Vega, scoring with 34:41 left in the first half. The Chargers’ offense stalled after that goal, going offsides on many fast breaks and failing to get into a rhythm.

Hampshire took advantage and tied the match with 10:31 left in the first half after Willy Argomaniz scored on a give-and-go.

D-C (2-2-1, 1-0 FVC) came out with more energy in the second half and pressured the ball, forcing Hampshire into mistakes. The Chargers created more rushes and Pena scored his second goal when he knocked in a rebound off Vega to give his team a 2-1 lead with 22:45 left.

Things didn’t improve for Hampshire after Kyle Johnson tried to make a play against a driving Pena but was called for a foul and given a red card, leaving the Whip-Purs to play with a man down. Pena tallied his third goal with 10:58 left when he scored on penalty kick after Hampshire fouled him again.

Hampshire’s Juan Martinez made it 3-2 when he scored with 2:36 left, but D-C responded right away after the Whip-Purs’ defense played up, leaving Gaby Herrera alone on a fast break to score with 1:52 left.

D-C coach Rey Vargas said there’s still room for improvement for a team featuring young players, but he liked the way the Chargers came together in the second half despite earlier frustrations.

“We still have a long way to go, a lot of work to do, but I thought the guys bounced back from that first half where we let them tie it up and we seemed rattled,” Vargas said. “We came out with more energy and seemed to finish it off.”

Hampshire (2-5, 0-1) missed on some opportunities in the second half but managed to create chances despite being a man down. Whip-Purs coach Chayanne Martinez thought his team played its best match of the season and was encouraged to see how it will progress despite the loss.

“These boys really stepped up today,” Martinez said. “I’m really proud of them for what they did, coming back and still getting a goal when they were a man down and still dominating part of the game with the man down, that was a big statement for us.”

Hampshire will have a week off before playing Rolling Meadows on Thursday, while D-C will jump right back into action, taking on Fremd on the road Friday, the first of four matches in the next week.

Vargas knows he can’t read too much into one match, but he’s excited to see how his team responds with the next slate of matches coming up.

“One conference win isn’t everything, but it’s a nice start,” Vargas said. “We still have a long way ahead of us.”