This post was written by Hatchet reporter Nora Princiotti.

Senior captain Tyler Ranalli’s hat trick highlighted GW’s bulldozing 4-0 shutout of VMI at Saturday’s men’s soccer home opener.

Ranalli, who tacked on an assist to his long stat sheet, scored his first goal just a minute and 50 seconds into the game, beating VMI goalkeeper Zach Kaplan in a one-on-one situation. It was his second goal of the season.

“When you get the early goal, it kind of settles you. I’ll take a goal in the first five minutes every game if I can so it certainly settles you a little bit but I think it also gives the belief to the group that we can score more goals so it was a perfect way to start,” head coach Craig Jones said.

Ranalli gave the Colonials a 2-0 lead going into halftime when he tapped in a header from sophomore Phillip McQuitty in the 29th minute. Goalkeeper Jean-Pierre van der Merwe also picked up a rare assist on the play.

Junior midfielder Farhan Khan kept Ranalli from monopolizing the stat sheet, recording a goal in the 47th minute from 12 yards out. Of course, though, that shot came off a beautiful cross by Ranalli, his third assist of the season.

Ranalli didn’t let up besides the margin, bringing the score to its final tally with his third goal of the game, three minutes later, assisted by Khan and freshman Angel Valencia.

“I think his senior leadership really stood out. It’s not easy to score a hat-trick in any game,” Jones said.

Center defender Andri Alexandersson, Ranalli’s co-captain, had three shots on the day, while Ranalli’s final total came to seven.

Defensive play was equally strong, keeping the ball out of VMI’s control and allowing them only four shots, compared to the Colonials’ 14. Van der Merwe was forced to make only a single save on those four shots.

“This definitely contributes to our rising confidence,” Alexandersson said.

GW will need to keep its confidence and momentum going for three days until their next test on Wednesday, on the road against St. Peter’s.