BY Mitchell Kiernan
Staff Reporter
The Sacred Heart Pioneers men’s soccer team defeated Mount St. Mary’s 3-1 on Oct. 16. The Pioneers not only secured the win, but a hat trick was scored by one of their top scorers. Sophomore forward Segundo Navarro scored all three of the Pioneers goals which has been done in program history only one other time.
Men’s Soccer head coach Joe Barroso had high praise for his sophomore saying Segundo is very vital to the offense and the team.
“If you stop Navarro, you stop Sacred Heart offense. He is just a special player and a great human being but he is a very good player. I would go as far as saying borderline pro,” said Barroso.
Barroso has high expectations for him and knows how special Navarro can be.
“He is one of the top players I’ve ever coached. He could do this every game. He’s the type of player that can decide a game at anytime,” said Barroso.
The overall talent of Navarro is what makes him so special on the pitch.
“He is our offense. You can go ahead and say that. Everything comes off of him. Because he is able to do everything. He could hold it, he can turn on it and anything around the box, he will bury the ball,” said Barroso.
Lastly, the coach was happy for Navarro when he heard about him winning the NEC Player of the Week Award.
“He deserves it. It’s good for him. Especially being an offensive player, relying on goals gets their confidence up,” said Barroso. “Forwards rely on goals and I’m happy for this individual accomplishment, he definitely deserves it. Like I said he’s just that special and a great kid who is great to coach.”
Navarro said that he knew a game like this was coming.
“It feels amazing because I didn’t score in one month and I was working all summer. To be honest I needed that,” said Navarro.
Navarro believes that a game like this can help the team overall moving forward. He added that a historical performance put the team in a good mood. He also credits the game with his hard work and what he has learned from freshman year.
“I worked on my mentality. I use to run and scream and now I’m just helping others and working on being a good teammate,” said Navarro. “I look to win. If I score, it’s good for me and the team. But if we win, it’s better for me and the team,” said Navarro.
Navarro also praised his coach for his outstanding play and helping him through the tough times.
“I just want to thank Coach, he helped me a lot when I didn’t have the grades. He said I would always have a spot here. I want to give this to him. I want to show him my confidence is back,” said Navarro.
When asked about his NEC Player of the Week honor he was very grateful but hungry for more.
“It feels amazing. People were telling me I played great and congrats. I always say thank you, but this is second because I’m glad we won. We need these wins and the awards won’t be the last,” said Navarro.
The Pioneers look to capture another win on Nov. 2 when they travel to take on St. Francis Brooklyn.
