Hurst’s hat trick helps Bucs end winless streak

TENNERTON — Ryan Hurst scored a hat trick to pace the B-UHS soccer Bucs past North Marion 6-1 on Monday.

B-U’s Lane Tenney broke open the scoring deadlock in the 26^th minute, finishing on a rebounded shot to open the floodgates. Hurst would score two minutes later on a breakaway, and Bryer Ketterman slipped a shot near post on a Hurst assist for B-U’s third goal in the 30^th minute.

Tyler Sandreth blasted a free kick to the far post to put the Bucs up 4-0 at intermission.

Hurst completed his hat trick early in the second half, with assists from Isaac Stankus and Ketterman. North Marion’s only goal came in the 62^nd minute, when Chandler Funkhauser hit a penalty kick past B-U keeper Logan Kelley.

“Really impressed with the all-around team effort tonight,” Buckhannon head coach Mike Donato said after his team picked up their first win in four games, a stretch that included two ties and a loss. “The team has played so well the past few games that it felt good to earn a win. We were particularly pleased with our ball movement and buildup in creating our goal scoring opportunities.

“That being said, we did give up another PK. Our last five goals surrendered have been from either PKs or free kicks in our defensive third, so we’ve got to do better about our fouls and defensive play.”

In goal, Kelley recorded six saves, while North Marion keeper Dylan Park had 11. The Huskies actually had an edge in corner kicks, 6-5, but all six came in the second half. B-U outshot their opponent 15-7.

The Bucs will look to bring their overall record to parity when they travel to RCB on Tuesday. Buckhannon is currently 5-6-2 on the season and faces a five-game road stretch before returning home to battle Lewis County on Senior Night on October 9.