Boseman’s hat trick powers Hawken past Lake Catholic in season opener

Tristen Boseman recorded a hat trick as Hawken opened the 2026 boys soccer season with a 4-2 victory over Lake Catholic on Friday night.

Tristen Boseman entered his sophomore season with a year’s worth of varsity experience behind him and a little extra motivation waiting across the field.

It didn’t take long for either to show.

Boseman scored three times, including twice in a span of roughly 90 seconds in the first half, to lead Hawken to a 4-2 season-opening victory over visiting Lake Catholic under the lights Friday night.

“I knew I’d done this enough to know how it goes and what it takes to win. I had no nerves coming in,” Boseman said. “I was just motivated to beat them because Lake Catholic was the first game that we lost last year. All of that pent-up intensity from last year caught up to me today.”

Boseman broke through in the 14th minute when he took a pass from Declan Bigelow, turned and blasted a shot into the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.

About 90 seconds later, he struck again.

This time, Joey Skoczen provided the assist as Boseman finished to double Hawken’s advantage and give the Hawks a 2-0 lead they carried into halftime.

Hat trick completed

Boseman didn’t wait long after the break to finish his first varsity hat trick of the season.

In the 52nd minute, Gio Gullotta sent a perfectly placed through ball ahead to Boseman, who broke free and finished to push Hawken’s lead to 3-0.

For Boseman, the performance illustrated the difference a year of varsity experience can make.

“I know how to do this now,” Boseman said. “Freshman year, I was coming into each game a little nervous because I was still getting used to it. But now as a sophomore, I can just get into the game and play my game.”

The Hawks added what proved to be an important fourth goal in the 77th minute when senior Brandon Shaw scored off an assist from Harrison Briggs.

That gave Hawken a 4-0 advantage, but Lake Catholic wasn’t finished.

Cougars battle back late

Kris Miljanovic scored twice in the 78th minute as the Cougars suddenly trimmed Hawken’s lead to 4-2 and provided a reminder of how quickly momentum can swing.

The Hawks regrouped and closed out the victory, but Hawken coach Vlad Muresan wasn’t about to overlook the late lapse.

“I think we can use these last five minutes to learn from them and make sure it never happens again in the future, especially in close games,” Muresan said. “It just shows you in high school soccer, it’s never over. The game can change in the blink of an eye. The whole game can change. It’s such a game of momentum, but I’m happy we got the win.”

For a young Lake Catholic team, the two late goals provided something to build on after the Cougars struggled to match Hawken’s intensity early.

“It was the first varsity game for a lot of us; it was a big wake-up call, and we needed to pick up and match the intensity,” Lake Catholic coach Kevin Pitorak said. “We weren’t doing that in the first half.”

Pitorak challenged his team at halftime to respond, and the Cougars did exactly that despite facing a four-goal deficit late in the contest.

“We talked at halftime about coming up a lot stronger, a lot faster, and we just said to keep fighting,” Pitorak said. “We wanted them to keep grinding, and eventually we got a couple of opportunities that we shared.

“I don’t believe in moral victories very much, but I told them we’re going to leave this field with pride, and I think we can do that. We can hold our heads high because we fought back.”

Hawks snap Lake Catholic skid

The victory carried additional significance for Muresan and the Hawks.

In a coaching rivalry dating back to 2019, Muresan had never beaten Lake Catholic. The Cougars also handed Hawken its final regular-season loss of 2025.

“It’s better late than never,” Muresan said. “He had some really solid teams the last couple of years, and they’re gonna be tough to beat even this year. It was a good way to start against them because they were also the last team to beat us last year in the regular season.”

Hawken won’t have much time to celebrate.

The Hawks return to action Monday, Aug. 17, when they travel to nearby rival Gilmour Academy for another game under the lights.

“I’d never beaten Lake Catholic, so we had to get our season off and running, and now we have Gilmour on Monday, a school that’s in the same city as us, and they’re always tough,” Muresan said. “They’re always tough. Doesn’t matter what year or what team they have. When we go to their place under the lights on a Monday night, it’s always a big game.”

Lake Catholic returns to the pitch Tuesday, Aug. 18, when the Cougars host Riverside.