MT. PLEASANT, TX – It was Alexandre Badji's (Montreal, Quebec, Canada, College Francais) day as LSU Eunice rode the sophomore's breakout hat trick performance to a 3-1 victory over Northeast Texas CC on Wednesday.  The win was also the first official victory for LSUE (1-2-0) under first year head coach Matthew Wolf.
 
The hat trick was the first for the Bengals' program since unanimous All-American Noah Wagner pulled a trio of goals against Mississippi Gulf Coast CC on October 17, 2019.
 
Badji got help from Tyler Bridgewater (Darrow, LA, Saint Amant HS) early in the match for his first goal.  Bridgewater broke away from the NTCC defense, drawing a tackle from behind in the box for a penalty kick.  Badji easily buried the 6th minute goal from the spot to put LSUE up ahead 1-0.
 
The Bengals would only hold a 1-0 advantage at intermission thanks to several offensive opportunities pushed away by a stellar performance in the first half from the Eagle goalkeeper.
 
Badji and the Bengals would strike again early in the half as  Joseph Fini (Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, Emily Carr Secondary School) lofted an entry pass to Badji in the 52nd minute at the top of the box.  The Canadian import would elude of pair of NTCC defenders, with his shot splitting the pair and tucking in the near corner. 
 
After NTCC would score on a long-range rocket, the Bengals and Badji would save their best for last.  After a tremendous defensive effort on a corner kicker, Nicholas Morrow (Destrehan, LA, Destrehan HS) would lead a fast break opportunity for LSUE.  Morrow would link up with Kei Nagakura (Kanagawa, Japan, Club Med Academies), who passed to the opposite sideline to Alcibiades "Junior" Duran, Jr. (New Orleans, LA, East Jefferson HS).  Duran would dish off to Badji in the box in stride who would finish his hat trick in the 60th minute.
 
The duo of Eddie Roberts (Alexandria, LA, Holy Savior Menard) and Jakob Morales (Mandeville, LA, Northlake Christian HS) would ward off Northeast Texas in net, as Roberts collected five of the pair's six saves.
 
LSU Eunice continues its Texas road swing with trips to Western Texas College and Mountain View College early next week.  The Bengals face the Westerners on Monday at noon, followed by another noon clash with Mountain View.