East Union is playing its best soccer at the right time.

The Lancers opened the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs on Friday, riding Giovanni Perez’s early hat trick to a 3-0 win over visiting Roseville in the 8-9 matchup. They’ll now get a second shot at top-seeded Valley of Sacramento in the quarterfinal round.

Since dropping back-to-back in the middle of the Valley Oak League season, East Union (16-9-2) has gone 5-0-1 while outscoring opponents, 20-6.

“We came out hungry once again like we did against Sierra,” Perez said, referencing EU’s one-sided 4-0 win over its cross-town rival. “If we can keep doing that, I think we have a chance to win it all. I hope we can keep playing like this. We looked so good. Everyone is complimenting how we were moving the ball so well. We looked like a team. We look like a family when we play like this.”

East Union played with pace and poise from the opening kickoff, dominating possessions and creating chances with dynamic movements and accurate passing.

Perez scored all three of his goals in a five-minute window, breaking through in the 10th minute after catching Roseville’s back line and goalkeeper Kaiden Pedone off guard after a long punt from Andres Garcia. The Lancers’ sprightly forward beat two defenders to the ball and put it away as Pedone scrambled to get back to his line.

“From the jump, I saw that they were not good with the balls going over their head, so just tried to take advantage and make the right run,” Perez said.

One minute later, Perez and the Lancers were on the attack once again. Defender Oscar Zavala delivered a progressive pass to the middle of the field, and Preston Avila sent Perez on his way to the goal with a perfectly-weighted through ball.

Perez capped the hat trick in the 15th minute, intercepting a poor negative ball from a Roseville defender and getting around Pedone with a deft touch for the easy tap-in. He now has 112 career goals, an East Union record.

It was an overall dominant first 30 minutes for the Lancers. Perez even showcased his abilities as a chance creator with nutmegs, heel flicks and dangerous crosses across the 6-yard box.

“I was feeling good,” Perez said. “Since the beginning of school, I was just locked in the whole time, looking at MaxPreps and studying the game.”

Roseville did not attempt a shot until the 29th minute, and standout forward James Crawford was quiet the entire first half.

Garcia, who finished with two saves, was not tested for much of the game. The Tigers (7-8-5) had their best look six minutes into the second half, but Julian Salcedo chipped his 1v1 shot over the goal.

“Our defense all around just played really good,” East Union center back Adrian Vivanco said. “We all played in system together, just 1-2s through the backfield and made sure we were all staying connected.”

East Union had opportunities to expand its lead in the second half, with Perez working well in combination with Alexis Berber and Ben Davis, but the Lancers lacked the intensity and precision they had for much of the first half.

“It’s the third time where we’ve been up 3-0 or 4-0 at half and we kind of pulled too far back, pulled our foot off the pedal too much,” EU coach Ronnie Green said. “We had talked about not parking the bus, and that’s what we did. Just kind of played possession out of the back a little too much, but it still worked out.”

The Lancers travel to Sacramento next Tuesday to face Valley (21-4-4). They previously met in the championship game of East Union’s Ervin Mendiola Memorial Classico, which Valley won, 1-0.