A gem from ‘Gio'

Giovanni Gallizia couldn't put into words his feelings about scoring a hat trick.

He had no idea what the term meant.

So with his face wearing the strain of confusion, the Italian exchange student turned to his teammates and innocently asked a question that put a smile on the faces of everyone wearing a Sutter High jersey.

"What is a hat trick?"

The one they call "Geo" may still be learning slang, but he showed no problems when it came to soccer as his three goals and an assist paved the way for a 5-0 Huskies romp over the Wheatland boys soccer team at home on Tuesday.

"It's not fun if you don't play," said the senior who came to Sutter this year by way of Milan.

He was talking about exuding effort, which he did in droves to give Sutter it's first Butte View League victory of the season. Gallizia scored the Huskies' first goal in the 10th minute after he one-timed a pass into the lower left corner of the net.

Then in the second half, Gallizia booted in a free kick from 30-plus yards out and added his final goal in the game's final 10 minutes on another long strike. But in between padding his scoring stats, the midfielder was constantly trying to set up his teammates.

On multiple corner kicks he used the correct amount of touch for his teammates to attempt a header and even sacrificed his body by taking a big hit before firing off a cross to Collin Olmstead that turned into a Jose Palacio goal.

"He's a very unselfish player, he distributes very well," Huskies coach Gurdeep Bhattal said. "Even with a chance to score he is looking for the best options."

Another player always looking to set up a teammate was Olmstead, who despite being dwarfed by the Pirates defenders played a stellar game. Twice the 5-foot-5 freshman used nicely placed passes from the left side to tally assists.

His ability to play scrappy soccer resulted in an Anthonee Ramirez goal in the 15th minute and he used a low rolling pass to set up Palacio 20 minutes later.

"He has been a great asset," Bhattal said. "He uses his talents to his advantage."

The Pirates, who spent the majority of the game dealing with Sutter pressing on offense, did have a handful of chances. But Wheatland, which lost it's best player, Jessy Vega, after winning a section title last year couldn't get anything past Sutter keeper Benny Padilla.

"He plays with a lot of guts," Bhattal said of Padilla.

For Sutter, the score-heavy day was a welcome turnaround from what has been a tough season offensively. Entering the contest, the Huskies had just seven goals in nine games and were outscored 16-1 in BVL play.

The coach hopes this win will turn things around for the Huskies, who still have seven league games remaining.

That will require more solid play from Gallizia, who Bhattal is more than happy to have on his roster, even if he's just on loan for a season.

"I love it," he said.