CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles advanced their way to the MEC Tournament Finale on Sunday with a 3-0 win over the Blue Knights of Urbana University in the Semifinal Round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. Charleston was led offensively by Junior Forward Gabriel Rodriguez, who finished the game with a three-goal performance.
 
JUST THE BASICS
SCORE:  Charleston 3, Urbana 0
LOCATION: CHARLESTON, W. Va. – Welch Athletic Complex
TEAM RECORDS: Charleston (16-2-1, 15-0-1 MEC), Urbana (10-6-3, 10-4-2 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

In a game that remained scoreless through the first 75 minutes of play, the Golden Eagles of Charleston overcame a pesky Urbana defensive attack over the course of the final ten minutes. The games' opening goal came at the 75:57 mark after Ettore Ballestracci swung a pass over to Rodriguez who finished for his first goal of the game.
 
In the 87^th minute of play, Charleston scored an insurance goal to extend their lead to two on the day after Christopher Allan found Rodriguez for his second goal of the game after a handful of commotion in front of the net.
 
The Golden Eagles remained on the attack as it took just 76 seconds, with the 1:03 remaining in the contest, for Charleston to punch in their third goal of the game. The goal, assisted on by Eduardo Iranzo, was executed on by Rodriguez once again for his third goal of the contest. The hat trick was the Golden Eagles 2^nd of the season as Jesus Cabanas did so on November 3^rd against Frostburg State.

On the day, the Golden Eagles out-shot the Blue Knights 17-0. In three matchups against Urbana this season, Charleston held Urbana to just two shots. 
 
 UP NEXT
The Golden Eagles will play in the MEC Final on Sunday against the Falcons of Notre Dame College with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m. The Falcons faced off against the Bobcats of West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon and after two scoreless overtime periods, Notre Dame edged Wesleyan 5-4 in penalty kicks.