Junior transfer Carlos Picado brought his scoring skills with him on the bus as the University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team made the short trip to St. Edward's University for a Wednesday night regional matchup.
The scorer netted three goals to lead UIW (1-1) to a 3-2 victory over the Hilltoppers, scoring once in the first half and twice in the second.
Picado's first goal came in the 17th minute when he put his foot on a deflected shot and buried the rebound for the 1-0 lead and his first goal of the season and as a Cardinal.
The score stayed at 1-0 into halftime, but St. Edward's (1-1) scored early in the second frame on a diving header in the 53rd minute.
The score knotted up, Picado scored less than ten minutes later, trailing senior Callum Riley who had dribbled around the SEU goalkeeper and unselfishly passed the ball to Picado for the 2-1 lead. Less than ten minutes after that, Picado was in the right spot at the right time yet again – corralling a deflected ball for a breakaway chance where the Costa Rico native maneuvered around the keeper and scored his third game of the match.
St. Edward's responded late in the game at the 88th minute to make the score 3-2, but UIW finished the game on top and earned its first win of the 2011 season.
"It wasn't one of our best performances, thus far, this season..." head coach Vincent Martinez said, "... but it's always good to get a win."
The Cardinals will play their first home game of the 2011 season on Friday night against Lindenwood University in the second game of a Women's-Men's UIW Soccer Doubleheader. Kickoff is scheduled for just after 8 p.m.
