Bezerra Named CSN Player of the Week
11/26/2019 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men's soccer freshman Victor Bezerra was named College Soccer News Player of the Week after posting a hat trick in his first career NCAA postseason match.
Bezerra was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for the first time in his career after being added as an honorable mention selection on Nov. 5.
The hat trick scored by Bezerra was the third in program history in an NCAA Tournament match and the first since Nikita Kotlov tallied a trio of goals against Xavier on Nov. 10, 2012 in the second round. Scott Merritt also recorded a hat trick against Evansville on Nov. 24, 1996 in the NCAA Tournament-Regional Semifinal.
Bezerra is the youngest of the trio to record a hat trick, doing so in his first collegiate national postseason match. Kotlov completed the goal-scoring trio as a junior, while Merritt was a senior.
His three-goal performance marked more goals than 25 of the 32 teams scored in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
His first tally came in the 21st minute. He received a cross from redshirt junior A.J. Palazzolo inside the 18-yard box and delivered a right-footed strike to beat the keeper to the near post. He scored nine minutes later after a beautiful display of passing and ball movement from the Indiana offense. Freshman Aidan Morris sent a through ball down the right flank to senior Simon Waever, who tapped a crossing pass in front of the goal mouth that found Bezerra. The Chicago, native one-timed the ball past the keeper to give Indiana a 2-0 lead in the first half of play.
Bezerra capped his brilliant performance with a masterful strike. He collected a pass from redshirt sophomore Joe Schmidt, took a couple of controlled touches, and launched a missile from 25-yards out on the left wing. The strike rose above the goalkeeper and found the upper right corner of the net.
The No. 6-ranked Hoosiers will be in action at noon ET on Dec. 1 at Armstrong Stadium against the No. 22-ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The game will air live on BTN.
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
F – Victor Bezerra, Indiana
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS TEAM OF THE WEEK
GK – Andrew Thomas, Stanford
GK – Jake Gelnovatch, Louisville
D – Tanner Beason, Stanford
D – Dylan Nealis, Georgetown
MF – Deri Corfe, Wright State
MF – Gino Vivi, UCF
MF – Blake Bodily, Washington
F – Victor Bezerra, Indiana
F – Kristo Strickler, Virginia Tech
F – Rodney Michael, UC Santa Barbara
F – Grayson Barber, Clemson
F – Trevor Davock, Providence
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
Bezerra was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for the first time in his career after being added as an honorable mention selection on Nov. 5.
The hat trick scored by Bezerra was the third in program history in an NCAA Tournament match and the first since Nikita Kotlov tallied a trio of goals against Xavier on Nov. 10, 2012 in the second round. Scott Merritt also recorded a hat trick against Evansville on Nov. 24, 1996 in the NCAA Tournament-Regional Semifinal.
Bezerra is the youngest of the trio to record a hat trick, doing so in his first collegiate national postseason match. Kotlov completed the goal-scoring trio as a junior, while Merritt was a senior.
His three-goal performance marked more goals than 25 of the 32 teams scored in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
His first tally came in the 21st minute. He received a cross from redshirt junior A.J. Palazzolo inside the 18-yard box and delivered a right-footed strike to beat the keeper to the near post. He scored nine minutes later after a beautiful display of passing and ball movement from the Indiana offense. Freshman Aidan Morris sent a through ball down the right flank to senior Simon Waever, who tapped a crossing pass in front of the goal mouth that found Bezerra. The Chicago, native one-timed the ball past the keeper to give Indiana a 2-0 lead in the first half of play.
Bezerra capped his brilliant performance with a masterful strike. He collected a pass from redshirt sophomore Joe Schmidt, took a couple of controlled touches, and launched a missile from 25-yards out on the left wing. The strike rose above the goalkeeper and found the upper right corner of the net.
The No. 6-ranked Hoosiers will be in action at noon ET on Dec. 1 at Armstrong Stadium against the No. 22-ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The game will air live on BTN.
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
F – Victor Bezerra, Indiana
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS TEAM OF THE WEEK
GK – Andrew Thomas, Stanford
GK – Jake Gelnovatch, Louisville
D – Tanner Beason, Stanford
D – Dylan Nealis, Georgetown
MF – Deri Corfe, Wright State
MF – Gino Vivi, UCF
MF – Blake Bodily, Washington
F – Victor Bezerra, Indiana
F – Kristo Strickler, Virginia Tech
F – Rodney Michael, UC Santa Barbara
F – Grayson Barber, Clemson
F – Trevor Davock, Providence
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
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