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Sports

Gordon's Hat Trick Propels Oakton

Raider freshman has a day to remember in soccer win over Prairie State.

"He's only been playing soccer for two years." Those were the words of Oakton Community College Assistant Athletic Director Mick Reuter minutes into the Raiders' 3-0 defeat of Prairie State.

Reuter, like the majority of the scouts seen at Oakton, was referring to freshman forward Remone Gordon.

Gordon tallied a hat trick in a variety of different scoring styles as Oakton prevailed in its Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference opener.

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Gordon's pace, touch and hard work weren't lost on head coach Steven Brody.

"He's a workhorse. He earned all the goals," Brody said. "He wears defenders down through his hard work and I think that's what he did again today.

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"Three goals in a college game is a tremendous accomplishment," he added.

Things started brightly for Oakton as the host Raiders were passing the ball well throughout the opening 15 minutes but hadn't created enough scoring chances.

It quickly changed after 20 minutes when a sloppy Prairie State clearance found the feet of Oakton's Nikoljan Sinani. In the blink-of-an-eye, he laid the ball to Gordon who slotted his shot inside the far post to give the Raiders an early advantage.

The rest of the first half ended with little fanfare but the second half is where the Raiders and Gordon were to shine.

On 64 minutes a cavalcade of Prairie State errors led to Gordon's second goal.

While the visiting Pioneers were starting to garner more possession and move the ball with more fluidity, an errant pass on their right side saw the ball fall to the feet of Oakton's Danny Braubach. He hoofed the ball forward and it looked certain the Pioneer goalie would easily collect the errant pass. Instead, a defensive mix-up between defense and goalie saw Gordon step in between and loop the ball over the unsure goalkeeper with a deft header.

Nine minutes later the game was over.  Gordon's third goal was to come at the hands of yet another Pioneer error in midfield.

This time William Groenings ran with the ball after he stole it from a Prairie State opponent. He then slid the ball into the path of Gordon who coolly rounded the on-rushing Pioneer goalkeeper. With a wide-open net, he simply couldn't miss.

"I believe in my teammates and they believe in me. The three goals feel amazing coming off an injury [the other day]," said the shy freshman forward.

For Oakton, it's 5-0 on the season and has an opportunity to keep winning as the team heads into the remaining conference matches.

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