Big Bad Wolff bites Sporting Jax: Tyler Wolff scored a hat trick and host Sacramento Republic FC punished another sloppy defensive performance from Sporting Club Jacksonville, romping to a 5-0 shutout in USL Championship men's soccer on Aug. 1 at Heart Health Park.
Miscues spoil Sporting Jax night: Wolff, the son of two-time World Cup forward Josh Wolff, scored his first goal in the seventh minute after a Sporting Jax turnover at the edge of the penalty area. He scored his second on a 40th-minute breakaway and his third in the 69th minute following another giveaway in defense.
Second-generation hat trick: It's not the Wolff family's first hat trick against Jacksonville. On July 11, 1998, Josh Wolff scored all three visiting goals for U.S. Pro-40
Select, a short-lived experimental team made up of young players from across Major League Soccer squads, in a 3-2 win over the A-League's Jacksonville Cyclones at Mandarin High School.
Big night for Rodriguez: Midfielder Memo Rodriguez supplied three assists for Sacramento (7-4-5), including corner kick deliveries leading to headed goals from Jared Timmer and Lee Desmond before halftime.
Quick free kicks: Sacramento outshot Sporting Jax (1-13-5) 19-1 and controlled 66 percent of possession. … Former United States men's national team defender Ventura Alvarado made his first start for Sporting Jax, playing the first 60 minutes, and Brazilian midfielder Jean Mota appeared for the last 13 minutes in his club debut. … With Ryan Edwards out, goalkeeper Jake McGuire served as Sporting Jax captain. … Alvarado, Harvey Neville, Emil Jaaskelainen and Jordan Rossiter all received yellow cards for Sporting Jax.
Up next: Sporting Jax returns home for a 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15 kickoff against the Indy Eleven at Hodges Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sporting Jax stumbles against Sacramento, second-generation striker
