Palm’s Hat Trick Propels Master’s, 5-1, in NAIA Pool Play : College soccer: Despite upset, semifinal berth for Mustangs remains an uncertainty.

A day after tying defending champion and top-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan in its opening match of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics soccer championships, The Master’s College defeated William Carey (Miss.), 5-1, Tuesday at Patch Reef Park.

Chris Palm’s hat trick powered the Mustangs (10-10-4) past William Carey (14-4-0). Ezekiel Bongarra and Randy Whitfield each added a goal.

Palm, a senior forward, has 20 goals this season. He scored 24 goals three years ago as a freshman.

“Chris has been playing as well as I’ve ever seen him play,” Master’s Coach Mark Schubert said. “He’s playing like he did as a freshman. He was just overpowering today.”

Palm gave Master’s a 1-0 lead at the 15-minute mark of the first half.

After William Carey tied the score, 1-1, Whitfield scored at the 30-minute mark to give the Mustangs the lead for good, 2-1.

Palm’s second goal 10 minutes later gave the Mustangs a 3-1 halftime lead.

“We kept the pressure on until about 15 minutes left,” Schubert said. “I didn’t want anyone getting hurt or carded in the final minutes.”

Palm scored his third goal--and team-high 20th of the season--early in the second half. Bongarra followed with a goal of his own.

The victory gives 12th-seeded Master’s a 1-0-1 record in pool play in the 12-team tournament, but it doesn’t guarantee that the Mustangs will qualify for Friday’s semifinals.

In order for Master’s to qualify, Wesleyan (17-1-3), in a match with William Carey today, would have to lose, tie, win by a score of 3-0 or less, or give up more than one goal in a win.

Because the tiebreaker is based on goal differential--as many as four goals a match--and total goals allowed, Wesleyan would advance to the semifinals if it shut out William Carey by more than three goals.

If Wesleyan defeats William Carey by a 5-1 score, the Bobcats would play Master’s in a playoff match Thursday to determine which team would advance to Friday’s semifinals.

“It’s kind of hard being in this position,” Schubert said. “We feel good about the way we’ve played, but we still don’t know if we’re going on.”