ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Oskar Schuster's first career hat trick led Roosevelt to an important 3-1 win over Northern Michigan on Sunday afternoon in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference match at Morris Field.

Schuster set the program record with his seventh career multi-goal game, scoring three times on five shots on goal in the match. He opened the scoring in the 31^st minute when he took the long pass off a free kick from Luca Swinton, moved around a defender and easily placed the shot in the lower left corner of the goal.

It took less than seven minutes of the second half for Schuster to forever etch his name in the Lakers record book. A wayward back pass from Northern Michigan was played perfectly into Schuster's path and he easily beat the goalkeeper for a second goal just 3:08 into the second half. A little more than three minutes later, Schuster was on the end of a Nick Kilian pass and he slammed the shot into the back of the net.

The hat trick complemented an outstanding debut in goal for Gabe Zorilla De San Martin, who made six saves on Senior Day. The senior goalie received his first official action for the Lakers and made it count early and often to keep the Wildcats at bay. He made his first impression in the 22^nd minute when he lunged to his right to tip a ball over the crossbar that was headed for the upper corner.

After the Lakers went up 3-0, however, Zorilla was at his best for Roosevelt to preserve the shutout as long as possible. He pushed aside two long-range efforts in the 63^rd and 69^th minutes before again coming up huge in the 73^rd minute. A scramble around the box left a Northern Michigan striker right in front of goal, and Zorilla somehow got his body in front of the shot to keep the point-blank drive out of the net.

Northern Michigan's pressure eventually led to a 76^th-minute tally and a box score that kind of hid Roosevelt's dominance in the game. The first 20 minutes of the match were a topsy-turvy affair with possession continuously changing hands as neither team was able to settle into the game. However, the Lakers (8-4-2, 6-4-0 GLIAC) eventually found their footing and dominated the next 40 minutes of play.

Roosevelt finished the first half with a 7-3 edge in shot attempts and held a 9-3 edge before the game turned again. The Lakers invited more pressure on themselves with a three-goal edge and the Wildcats were able to finish the game with an 11-11 tie in shot attempts and a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Northern Michigan did ring the crossbar a few minutes prior to scoring its goal, but were otherwise stymied around the box by the Lakers defense.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt remains at home for the final two games of the regular season next week, starting with a matchup against Davenport at 2 p.m. Friday that will be the second leg of a doubleheader at Morris Field.