The Bakersfield Brigade Men’s PDL team handed the Lancaster Rattlers their 5th consecutive loss of the season, with a 5-1 Brigade victory on Saturday evening.  

It didn’t take the Brigade too long to score their first goal as Brigade Forward Santiago Aguilera found the back of the net in the 10th minute of play, as fellow Brigade Forward Andrew Procter fed Aguilera a decent ball to finish. The Rattlers though answered back with a goal of their own in the 35th minute of play, as Midfielder Wilmer Lopez took a pass from fellow Rattler teammate Mauricio Harrie and scored what would be the only Rattler goal of the night. Just before the end of the first half, the Brigade took the momentum back just before the half with a score in the 44th minute of play as Aguilera scored his second of the game while Procter picked up his second assist of the night. “Santigo’s 2nd goal couldn’t have come at a better time . . . we needed to gain the momentum back from Lancaster and that goal did just that,” stated Brigade Head Coach Francisco Gomez.

The 2nd goal by Aguilera proved to be the momentum driver the Brigade needed going into the second half. In the 55th minute of play, Brigade Head Coach and Midfielder Francisco Gomez scored an unassisted goal from about 15 yards out with a great strike to the far post. Eight minutes later Aguilera scored his final goal of the night which completed his “hat trick” of three goals. Francisco Gomez spotted Aguilera working the back field, asked for the ball and with a great first touch pass fed it to Aguilera for the score. Completing the scoring for the night, Brigade Forward Ryan Williams won the ball off a Brigade corner, turned and then fed it to Jason Ashurst who then blasted the ball into the back of the net to give the Brigade a 5-1 lead which proved to be the final score. “We wanted this win very badly and by looking at the score, we accomplished our goal which put us in a great position to qualify for the US Lamar Hunt Open Cup,” stated Brigade General Manager Joe Jimenez.  
  
With the win against Lancaster the Brigade remain in the top position for qualifying into the tournament within the Southwestern PDL Division. Their next qualifying game is set on Memorial Day (Monday May 28) when the Brigade travel to play the San Francisco Bay Seals at the University of San Francisco. But first, they will meet the San Jose Frogs in a regular league match on Saturday May 26th.

For more information please visit: http://www.bakersfieldbrigade.com or call 410-KICK.