Jorstad, Ayala provide spark off bench in lopsided win over Paul Quinn

The message to freshmen Mathias Jorstad and Michael Ayala was simple as they were preparing to sub in to Saturday's Red River Athletic Conference match with Paul Quinn College.

Head coach Adrian Rigby wanted each of them to provide a spark and help UHV overcome an early own goal.

"I think (Mathias) exceeded expectations," Rigby said.

Jorstad scored a natural hat trick with goals in the 35^th, 38^th and 43^rd minutes, with assists from Diby Kouassi on his first goal and Ayala on his second and third goals, to spark a run of seven unanswered goals and lift the Jaguars to a 7-1 win over the Tigers. The midfielder has now scored four times over the last two games.

For good measure, the Harstad, Norway, native, added an assist on Klaidas Pudlauskas' goal in the 50^th minute to put UHV (6-2-2, 4-2-1) up 5-1 at the time.

"I was expected to make a bit of mayhem," Jorstad said. "(Rigby) wanted me to make the deeper runs and we have so many good players on the ball. So, when Diby, Michael and Carlos have the ball, I'm just making the deep runs. I got the ball today and it was good to see them going in."

Ayala then gave the Jaguars a 4-1 lead at halftime with a goal in the 44^th minute on assists from Kouassi and Elijah Jarmon.

It was the first career goal for the El Paso native.

"It's really in training every single day," Ayala said. "Coach Chase (Boulton) keeps pushing me to be better. Just because I'm coming off the bench doesn't mean anything. I still want to push myself to improve for the team and help us get these wins.

Jorstad and Ayala weren't the only freshmen to join in on the fun, though.

Josh Loveridge scored in the 71^st minute on a rocket from outside the box on an assist from senior Archie Mills, who capped the scoring in the 89^th minute by converting a penalty kick.

While Rigby knew of the confidence his newcomers had, he still enjoyed seeing their work translate on the field against the Tigers (1-6-1, 1-6-0). He sees it as a byproduct of the team's veteran leadership.

"I think the seniors are providing them a lot of confidence and encouragement," Rigby said. "I'm just really proud of the guys who came in for us. We always talk about guys coming into games and helping raise our level. I thought everyone that went into the game raised our level."

UHV will go on the road next week to face LSU Alexandria on Oct. 17 and No. 25-ranked Louisiana Christian on Oct. 19.