Pacini smashes goal-scoring record
Courtesy of John Vellante, Boston Globe
Fitchburg State center midfielder Robbie Pacini of Stoneham worked his way into the NCAA Division 3 soccer record book late last month when he scored four straight rapid-fire goals in an 8-1 rout of Rivier College.
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The goals, however, came after Pacini was benched for forgetting his game jersey. He drove to his apartment in Fitchburg and returned just as the match was about to start. Coach Werner Thissen had already erased Pacini’s name from the starting lineup and waited 15 minutes before putting him in the game.
“What else could I do?’’ asked Thissen. “It wasn’t supposed to be that way; he was supposed to start . . . When he told me, all I could say to him was ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He rushed home to get it, but there was no guarantee he’d be back in time, so I had to replace him with another player. Looking back now, the whole thing was kind of funny.’’
When the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Pacini took the field, he went to work. In a span of 3 minutes and 46 seconds he netted four goals en route to a five-goal, 11-point performance, shattering the NCAA record. Previously, the four fastest goals scored by one player came in 2008, when Patrick Floeck of Trinity University (San Antonio) turned the trick in 5:26.
Pacini connected on a header at 22:45, on a breakaway at 23:16, a header off a corner kick at 24:29; and another header off his own rebound at 26:31.
He added a fifth first-half goal at 43:33 and assisted on another at 44:40. The five-goal explosion lifted his season total to seven. He entered the season with six career goals.
Thissen said Pacini’s fourth goal was a thing of beauty.
“That was the prettiest of them all,’’ he said. “He shot from about 18 feet out, hit the post, came across the box, and then headed in the rebound. It was insane. He just kept coming at the ball. His teammates just stood and watched. I think they were as surprised as he was. He was so happy after that goal that he took a nice run on the pitch.
“I’ve been involved in soccer my whole life, from when I was a boy in Germany, and I’ve never seen anyone score four goals in a game before in such a short time. I’d never seen anyone score four goals in a game, period.’’
The 21-year-old Pacini said he might have scored that many goals years ago in a youth game but never at Stoneham, where he earned All-Middlesex League honors (2007) and played on two state championship teams (2006 and 2007).
“I was angry with myself for forgetting my jersey,’’ he said.
“I realized it too late. I remember rushing home and rushing back and then sitting on the bench watching the game, and really wanting to get in there and play and make up for a pretty dumb mistake.
“I was really flying when I got out there. I’m disappointed the team didn’t do well this season [a 4-13 record], but personally it was the highlight of the season.’’
Thissen said he couldn’t be happier with the way Pacini, a senior, closed out his career.
“He was someone who usually started throughout his career and someone who usually played the full 90 minutes. He always put in the effort whether it was at practice or at a game. He never slacked off no matter the score; he always gave it his all.’’