On Thursday night, Saint Martin’s University rolled into town, and it looked like it could be the perfect medicine for an ailing Clan side. Saint Martin’s was the worst defensive team in the GNAC, conceding 19 goals in eight games while SFU has scored only seven goals in the same time period coming into tonight. Needless to say, the Clan got their fix of goals, as they won 5–0.
But the story by the end of the night was Christina Dickson. With the score 2–0 in the 80th minute, she proceeded to score three goals in the span of nine minutes, stunning the crowd in attendance.
“It was a really good team effort,” said Dickson on her performance after the match. “Coming from 2–0 at halftime, we just talked about how we really just had to go out and seal it here, especially at home. It took us a little while but we got there.”
Christina Dickson’s hat trick is an unofficial school record.
While there are no records to indicate if these are among the fastest three goals in women’s soccer history, it is still one incredible achievement. “It feels really good,” said Christina Dickson on her unofficial SFU record. “Especially to come on and just do my job here.”
SFU got off to a fantastic start. Six minutes in, Olivia Aguiar made a powerful run off the left side, cut in, and scored on a hard, high shot to get SFU off to an early lead. They added a second in the 19th minute, when Katelyn Richardson cut through two players and buried the ball into the bottom left corner. The Clan could have had a few more, with Sierra Leung and Devon Kollymer having great chances to find the back of the net.
In the second half, SFU was content to retain possession, forcing Saint Martin’s to attack on the counter. But then Christina Dickson produced her magic. Her first came in the 80th minute, a great shot near the goal line that sailed over the opposing keepers head. Her second came six minutes later, with a hard shot outside the penalty box that the goalie could not clear off the line in time. Then, three minutes later, she completed the hat trick off a rebound.
“I thought we had a slow first half,” said head coach Annie Hamel after the match. “Honestly, the message at halftime was pick up the tempo, pick up the level. I felt like we played down to their level a little bit. As a staff, we were unhappy about that. But I thought the team responded well.
“Finally, we scored more than one goal. It’s a nice confidence builder.”
Coach Hamel was, needless to say, extremely happy with Dickson’s play on the night. “What a performance,” said Hamel on Dickson. “It feels good to finish. I’m glad she had the confidence to do what she did, but I still like to see my strikers a bit more polished. Because in different games, you may not get the second or third chance.”
