The Trinity men’s soccer team extended their winning streak to seven games this past weekend, defeating both Southwestern University and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
“This was definitely our best weekend of the season so far,” said assistant coach Tom Cartee. We played fantastic in the Southwestern game on Saturday and the first half of Mary Hardin-Baylor was really great too. The second half started to show a little fatigue, having two hard fought games on back to back nights. I think the guys really had the most fun they’ve had, and we’re really encouraged with the progress they showed.”
On Saturday night Trinity traveled to Georgetown, where they beat Southwestern 2-0.
Junior midfielder Darren McAfee scored the Tiger’s first goal in the 34th minute, on an assist from senior midfielder Nima Naderi. First-year defender Tom Carwile scored Trinity’s second goal in the 59th minute, assisted by McAfee. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Cardone contributed with three saves.
“Our defense played really well. We didn’t give much away, but the best part was our offense creating chances and the effort everyone put in,” Carwile said. “Our offense really improved that game.”
Overall, Trinity recorded 22 shots on offense, while allowing Southwestern only six shots.
Trinity also dominated Sunday night, defeating Mary Hardin-Baylor 3-0 at home in their eighth shutout victory this season.
Sophomore forward Johnny Lawson scored the first goal in the 36th minute, assisted by junior midfielder Jeff Hayes and senior defender Michael Micheletti, which was quickly followed by a goal from Carwile one minute later, on an assist from sophomore midfielder Victor Araujo.
“We were all over them in the first half,” Cartee said. “It took awhile for the breakthrough to come, but I think we wore them down playing at a high tempo. I think that was the result of our having been putting them under so much pressure constantly throughout the whole half.”
Junior forward Brian Hines scored the final goal in the 76th minute, securing the win for the Tigers and making them 12-0-1 overall and 7-0-0 in conference play. Cardone recorded five saves in the game against Hardin-Baylor, marking 655 minutes without allowing a goal for Trinity.
“Our defense so far this season has been solid, but we have struggled with our offense,” McAfee said in an email. “This weekend however we were a lot more productive going forward. Our movement in the attacking third was much better and our efficiency in front of goal also improved.”
The Tigers return home this weekend for Friends and Family Weekend to host Austin College on Friday and Centenary College on Sunday.
“The team has been steadily improving as the season has gone on,” McAfee said. “We are starting to figure out our attacking, and our defense continues to do well. I feel like we haven’t peaked yet this season. We still aren’t firing on all cylinders yet, but I’m certain that the best from us is still to come.”
