HCC dominates FCC

HAGERSTOWN — The Hagerstown Community College men’s soccer team showed no remorse for Region XX foe Frederick Community College on Wednesday afternoon.

The Hawks finished the game strongly, scoring four goals in the second half to blank FCC 6-0.

HCC dominated much of the game and maintained possession throughout the better part of the contest.

“It’s a possession style formation that we use,” HCC coach Brian Eichelberger said. “If we can keep possession, (opposing teams) can’t score.”

That statement held true for FCC (0-10), which didn’t manage a goal ... except when the Cougars scored on themselves in the second half.

There was no lack of effort from HCC (3-5-1, 3-3-1) throughout the game as five different players scored a goal for the Hawks.

Goals by Genc Sopa and Zack Morgan gave HCC a 2-0 advantage at the break.

“We were rushing around in the first half,” Eichelberger said. “We settled down in the second half and were more patient.”

Garrett Hajjar put the Hawks up by three before the lead was stretch to four goals when FCC scored on itself.

“A lot of the battles with the program are internal,” FCC coach Jonathan Frias said. “It’ll only take three or four years to turn this around if we can get guys committed.”

Gabe Hirsch scored HCC’s fifth goal and Alex Sanchez netted goal six for the Hawks to end the rout.

The game could have been even worse for FCC if HCC would have connected on some close shots. Several shots either bounced off the cross bar or just went wide.

“We distributed the ball well and had our chances that went off the cross bar,” Eichelberger said. “It was a good win, though.”

HCC dominated the Cougars in the shot category, too. HCC got off 23 shots to FCC’s four.

FCC’s program has been down over the years, but that’s something coach Frias said he is trying to change.

“The program has had a lot of problems,” he said. “Commitment has been an issue, but we’re trying to set the tone with these guys for the future.

“We’re trying to stop the bleeding this year. We have the coaching staff in place to get this turned around.”