Spartanburg, S.C.- Sophomore Nikolai Rojel netted the twelfth hat trick in school history and the Wofford Terriers men's soccer team emerged victorious over the Winthrop Eagles 4-2.

Rojel tallied his first strike in the 27th minute, taking advantage of a miscommunication between the Winthrop goalkeeper and defender to have an empty net look on goal that the sophomore would effortlessly connect on. Freshman Villads Landsperg provided his first career assist, and subsequent point, on the goal.

Rojel's second goal needed no assist- the Copenhagen native drew a foul against Winthrop's Diego Candia inside the box and calmly stepped up to attempt the penalty kick. The keeper dove right, and Rojel scored his 15th goal as a Terrier to increase the Wofford lead to 2-0.

An early goal from Winthrop in the second half gave the Eagles plenty of time to find an equalizer, however Rojel was not finished scoring. After receiving a pass from junior Nic Parker deep in the final third of the field, Rojel beat his defender and rifled it into the net for a 3-1 lead and his hat trick in the 62nd minute.

"I'm of course very happy. I had, I think, three games before this where I didn't score and maybe put a little bit too much pressure on myself. Today, I just went out and thought, "let's just have a day, let's enjoy it, we're playing at home before conference," Rojel said of his performance.

His hat trick is the first since Adrian Roseth against Belmont in 2019 and the second hat trick in school history against Winthrop (Steve Durnian did so back on September 21, 1976). The hat trick is also the first time a Terrier has recorded a hat trick at home against a D-I opponent.

Not satisfied with a two-goal margin of error, the Terriers found a fourth goal in the 69th minute. A foul against Nic Parker just outside the box set the stage for sophomore Jakob Andersson to have an attempt on goal. Andersson curled the ball up and over the Winthrop wall, away from the keeper and into the net for his first goal of the season.

A late goal from Winthrop in the 81st minute gave the final ten minutes some intrigue, but the Wofford defense would not allow another attempt and the match ended 4-2 in favor of the Terriers.

The win extended Wofford's winning streak against the Eagles to four consecutive matches.

The Terriers will now turn their sights to ETSU on Saturday, September 30, and the start of Southern Conference play. Wofford has not bested the Buccaneers since 2016 and has never won in Johnson City, Tennessee. However, the Terriers have never lost a conference opener under head coach Joel Tyson (excluding the COVID shortened season). Kickoff is currently slated for 7 PM and can be seen on ESPN+.