ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Marc Birkelund led the way for the Flagler College men's soccer team Saturday as the freshman netted his first collegiate hat trick en route to the Saints' 5-3 Peach Belt Conference victory over the visiting University of North Georgia at Saints Field.

The victory marked Flagler's second straight and gave the Saints a combined 10 goals over the past two matches in front of a packed grandstand for the college's "Family Weekend" celebration.
 
"We started strong and created some very good chances," Flagler head coach Chris Kranjc said. "Our pressing in the first half was very good and we were able to reward ourselves with some goals. North Georgia fought hard for 90 and credit to them. We were able to continue to find chances after UNG came back to tie and good to see us find a way to win."
 
"Marc has come along in the last few weeks, and he is finding good positions to score. He has great quality in front of the goal. Now, we turn our attention to a very good Lander team."
 
Birkelund's career day came in just 58 minutes played and began in electric fashion. In the 22nd minute, the Højslev, Denmark native took the ball out from under keeper Garrett Liles and dribbled past him for the 1-0 lead. Birkelund scored again four minutes later as Matteo Costa found him and he struck it into the left corner for a 2-nil lead the Saints (4-4, 3-2 PBC) would take into halftime.
 
Flagler fired off 13 of its 20 shots in the final 45 minutes, while North Georgia (4-5,1-4) saw eight of the Nighthawks' 11 come in the second half to make things interesting. After Costa scored his fourth goal in two games and 11th of the season in the 56th minute — via Christian Wnuk's third assist in a pair of matches — North Georgia ripped off three goals over a 12-minute span.
 
Twenty-six seconds after Payge Sinclair scored the equalizer, Max Lambertz dribbled up the sideline and cut into the box to put the Saints back ahead for good with his first goal of the season. To cap off his impressive day, Birkelund ended his outing how he started it: with a goal. This one came via Lambertz three minutes after he scored as the forward, who scored three goals on four shots, placed the ball into the left corner and celebrated with his teammates on Saints Field.
 
Up Next: Flagler will return to PBC play this Wednesday with a 3 p.m. tilt with Lander University.
 
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