DANVILLE, Ky. – Centre men's soccer advanced to the Southern Athletic Association Tournament semifinals with an 8-2 rout against Birmingham-Southern Saturday at Andrew P. Amend Field.
 
With the match tied 2-2 at the half, the Colonels (14-3-1) buried the visiting Panthers (6-9-1) with six goals in the final 45 minutes. Alexander Garuba once again shined for Centre, recording his first hat trick of the season which included the game-winning goal.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
- Centre seemed poised for a big day offensively right from the start, as Dylan Barth put home a cross from Royce Pope barely two minutes into the contest to put the Colonels ahead.
- Garuba ripped his first goal of the afternoon eight minutes later, making it 2-0 with the match still in its early stages.
- The Panthers responded, however, and after missing on some scoring chances finally got on the board with Christian Hernandez's goal in the 30th minute. Coleman Jennings equalized in the 43rd minute to make it 2-2 at the halftime break.
- Head Coach Jeb Burch had his side ready for the final 45 minutes, as evidenced by Garuba's eventual game-winner in the 50th minute on a precise pass from Will Newton.
- Garuba flashed his footwork in the 55th minute, leaving a defender behind and finishing to put Centre back on top by two goals. The play came following a persistent buildup by Pope.
- The Colonels would not allow another comeback, going on to hit the back of the net four more times.
- Nafiz Budeiri tallied a pair of goals within a four minute stretch midway through the period, the latter of which was aided by a long feed from Everett Hauser.
 -Nathan Wilcox scored his sixth goal of the season in the 73rd minute, and Joe Green would net his first career goal in the 83rd minute to put a bow on the victory. Nick Mazzarella provided the assist to Green.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Garuba has scored a goal in seven straight matches, finishing with 10 during that stretch. His 17 goals this season are third most in Centre's single-season history, behind Ryan Garvey's 21 in 2012 and Garuba's own 19 from a year ago.
- The two-goal effort was Budeiri's first in his collegiate career.
- Centre's Tate Johnson had two saves and a handful of impactful plays while playing all 90 minutes in goal.
 
UP NEXT
Centre travels to Atlanta for the remainder of the SAA Tournament. The Colonels meet six-seed Millsaps next Friday, Nov. 8, after the Majors upset Sewanee in Saturday's opening round. It marks the fifth straight year the two programs will meet in the conference tournament.