(GILBERT, Ariz.) Senior Kaleb Powell scored four goals and dished two assists for 10 points in Gilbert Christian's 9-1 mercy-rule victory over Crismon on Friday evening. Powell also secured and surpassed the 50-goal career milestone in the affair. 

The first-ranked Knights are 8-0 on the year. With the loss, the Rattlers drop to 3-4 overall. 

Gilbert Christian flew out of the gates, scoring on a cross from senior Sam Cavinder to freshman Kaden White, just 37 seconds into the contest. 

Just over a minute later, the Knights struck gold again as senior Jackson Dolan bobbed and weaved all the way up the field before finding Powell open in the box. 

Crismon was next to strike, capitalizing on a rare, but costly, defensive blunder to score its lone goal of the match.

Seven minutes passed before the scoreboard lit up again, but when it did, the floodgates opened. 

White launched a corner kick to the back of the box, where Powell soared, getting a head on the ball and sending it back to the middle where senior Nate Dickinson leapt over the competition, inadvertently colliding with defenders and the Rattlers' keeper before heading one into the back of the net.

Less than 50 seconds later, Powell broke up the middle and sophomore Brady Fredrickson spotted him, threading the needle with an absolute dime to give Powell his 49th and GCHS a 4-1 advantage. 

The significant 50th goal came next, by way of a long rebound, which Powell blasted from deep into the back corner of the net over Crismon's diving goalie. 

At 13:49, Powell notched another, making it look easy as he gracefully connected on a ball just outside of the box to put the Knights up 6-1. 

Sophomore Noah Cooper used his speed to register Gilbert Christian's seventh, coming from way behind to beat both the defender and the Rattlers' keeper to a ball, which he put a fast and beautiful touch on to notch another score for the Knights. 

At the break, GCHS held a 7-1 edge.

In the second, Cavinder posted a pair, courtesy of senior Antonio Lopez and sophomore Lief Littlefield, to give Gilbert Christian the mercy-rule win with 18:07 on the clock. 

"I couldn't have done any of this without a great team," Powell said. "When you score goals, half of it is having guys that know how to find you and work together, and half of it is just putting yourself in the right spot, at the right time."

Next up for GCHS is a regional match-up with the San Tan Foothills Sabercats. The home contest is scheduled for January 16th at 6:00pm. 

-GO KNIGHTS-