Catonsville junior striker Jose Moran had his first hat trick of the season and third in the past two years as the Comets blanked visiting Patapsco, 5-0, Wednesday evening.
Moran's three goals came one game after he scored a pair of goals in the Comets' 2-0 victory over Perry Hall on Sept. 14.
That win over the Gators was the first for coach Vic Vega, who has been coaching eight years.
Patapsco wasn't expected to be as big of a challenge, but Vega recalled last year's game with the feisty Patriots ended in a scoreless tie after 100 minutes, so he wasn't taking anything for granted.
For the first 18 minutes, the goose eggs remained on the scoreboard.
Catonsville had some chances as Tim Burk set up Santiago Cueller with a header that was saved nicely by goalie Darren Schmidt, then Burk and Justin Rodd had a sweet give and go that resulted in a shot off the post by Rodd.
Finally, Tyler Farrell's high rainbow into the box bounced high over Schmidt's head and hustling Moran booted it in for a 1-0 lead with 21:47 left in the half.
Reserve senior midfielder Andrew Myers set up some excellent opportunities with nifty passes, while senior Parker McArdle controlled the midfield.
Backup junior midfielder Chris Lutz got the Comets rolling for their second goal when he won a ball and fed Farrell, who set up Moran for the 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the defense, anchored by sweeper Kevin Vogelpohl and wingbacks Cuellar and Rodd, swarmed Patapsco's best scoring threat, Craig King each time he tried to penetrate after a long ball from Tyler Dominiak.
At halftime, Catonsville made some adjustments and put the game away.
They moved one of its four midfielders to striker and the third attacker paid off with two goals in under six minutes.
"By throwing that extra person up top, we were able to generate more opportunities and more speed," Vega said.
Moran struck again in the fourth minute when Kody Scott beat his defender on the end line and fed him in the box.
"Jose is phenomenal," Vega said. "He is so gifted and he's so unselfish, sometimes to a fault, but he makes everybody around him better."
Less than three minutes after Moran's third goal, Calder Styer's blast off the post was touched home by Scott for a 4-0 lead.
McArdle assisted Drew Carlson for the final goal and the Comets improved to 3-2 overall.
"I'm glad we had that kind of game because their were a lot of kids that didn't get off the bench against Perry Hall," Vega said.