OKLAHOMA CITY – Jose Angulo’s hat trick on Sunday evening for OKC Energy FC in a vital 3-0 win against the LA Galaxy II at Taft Stadium may have put the standout forward into the main spotlight on the night, but the man himself was eager to pass on the praise after his side boosted its USL Cup Playoffs credentials.  

“It was a collective effort,” said Angulo. “If it weren’t for the guys around me I wouldn’t have scored. It’s a team effort, especially this time of year and hopefully we take this to the next step.”

Angulo’s performance produced only the second hat trick in Energy FC history, following Danni König’s against the Portland Timbers 2 just over two years ago, but Energy FC Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen agreed with Angulo’s assessment.

“I think he was brilliant and I think the guys in front of goal did a great job setting him up as well and did a fantastic job making him look good,” said Nielsen. “It wasn’t just the Angulo show, it was a good team effort today.”

READ MORE: Angulo’s Hat Trick Leads OKC Past Los Dos

The ingenuity provided by the rest of Energy FC’s attacking pieces saw the side threaten regularly throughout the contest, with Jose Barril leading the way. The Spaniard set up the most impressive of Angulo’s three goals, his second of the contest, as he produced an impressive piece of footwork to beat his man on the left wing and set up the opportunity for Angulo to double the lead for OKC.

“It was a nice move to try. It’s in your head and you try it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t…today it worked,” said Barril. “I saw Angulo wide open in the middle of the box and I was able to send it to him.”

“When Barril does things like that, it makes my job easy,” added Angulo. “I knew he was going to do something. I just anticipated it. We were on the same page, he got it across and I put it away.”

For OKC the win was important, increasing its lead to five points over ninth-place Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC as it looked to secure a third consecutive trip to the USL Cup Playoffs. It also earned the side a second consecutive victory and three in its last four outings. Next Sunday’s match against the Swope Park Rangers will still be a test, but OKC is now at least seeming to find the consistency it has lacked much of the season.

“We’ve struggled a little bit with consistency. We will win, then tie, then lose, then win,” said Nielsen. “Now we have two wins in a row and hopefully we can continue building on that going into the game against Swope. We’ve had our challenges this year against Swope, so we have to get ourselves physically and mentally ready for that game.”

With the frame of mind Angulo and his teammates appeared in on Sunday, the drive to the postseason seems to have clicked into gear for Energy FC.