Sweet 16: Rubio’s four birthday goals lead GC to win over North Pitt
Greene Central’s Alan Rubio, white jersey, had a birthday to remember with four goals in a 6-1 win over North Pitt Tuesday. Photo by Laieke Abebe / Neuse News
Alan Rubio put his stamp on the latest win for Greene Central’s boys soccer team.
On his 16th birthday, the Rams junior forward scored four goals in a 6-1 road win over North Pitt on Tuesday. This completed a season sweep for Greene Central (3-1) after they won 4-0 over the Panthers (1-4) Aug. 30.
“It was great,” Rubio said about his performance. “My teammates made some great passes to me and they gave me a lot of scoring chances. Getting a hat trick was nice enough, but scoring four goals on my birthday is something I’ll never forget.”
Rubio set the tone by scoring his first three goals in a 14-minute span midway through the first half. After a corner kick was not fully cleared away by the Panthers, junior midfielder Alejandro Nunez was able to play a nice pass to Rubio and the Rams led after seven minutes.
Greene Central led 3-0 at halftime behind Rubio’s heroics, allowing Rams head coach Matt Gnau was able to get numerous players in the game during the second half.
“Our goal is to improve every game,” he said. “We started slow last year, but we got better throughout the year. Hopefully, we can get our next two games in before the storms hit. I like games where we can get a few goals and then get some substitutes in. These games are helping us prepare for conference play and we want to keep building this program.”
Rubio scored seven minutes into the second half before assisting on a pair of goals, first for Felipe Hinojosa before Jose Romero got in on the action.
“Alan is strong,” Gnau said about his junior forward. “He’s got some great speed and he’s become more confident on the ball. Not only is he a great goal scorer, but he’s improved as a creator and his assist to Jose showed that.”
The Rams are scheduled to face Eastern Wayne next Tuesday. A match that was set for Wednesday with Pikeville C.B. Aycock was postponed due to the impending Hurricane Dorian.
