Jalen Harvey channeled his inner anger into the best performance of his soccer career.
Harvey scored three goals, including the golden goal in overtime, in leading Anthony Hunter and his DePaul University teammates on a furious 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Drake at Wish Field.
Drake (1-4-1) scored in the 54th minute off a shot by James Wypych and made it 2-0 in the 58th minute on Enna Steven’s goal.
Upset about not starting, Harvey began his run of three goals in 18 minutes with a header off a nice feed from freshman Hans Wustling in the 80th minute.
“I was ticked off that I didn’t start like a lot of other guys would’ve been,” Harvey said. “Once I got my chance, I wanted to prove a point. Down two-nil, what better way to prove a point.
“That first goal, Hans sent a perfect cross. All I had to do was connect on it and put it in. I didn’t want to hit it too high.”
After that first one, Harvey was bent on finding the equalizer. It came in the 87th minute.
“Simon Megally gave me a good flick,” Harvey said. “I got the ball with two Drake guys defending. They kicked it away, but it came back to me. It was pretty lucky, but I guess it was meant to be.”
Early in overtime, Harvey took off on an apparent breakaway with only the goalkeeper to beat. But a late run by a defender disrupted a golden opportunity.
“I thought that was going to ruin my day,” Harvey said.
But in the 98th minute, Megally and Erik Rodriguez made their patented midfielders’ connection with Rodriguez setting up Harvey at point-blank range.
“As I headed into the box, I felt like I was on fire already,” Harvey said as he recorded his first career hat trick. “I saw an opening, and Erik put it exactly where I wanted it.
“The most I ever scored in college was two goals in a season. But this isn’t just about scoring. It’s more about the team staying together, coming back and getting the win.”
DePaul coach Craig Blazer noted that his 3-2-1 team held Drake in check after the first two goals and then rode the momentum Harvey created.
“His performance today is quite a statement,” Blazer said. “We knew he was capable of having games at this level.
“Even down 2-0, we kept our heads in the game. I was encouraged by the way our guys handled all the challenges of the game.”
