The 10th-ranked Trinity men’s soccer team increased their winning streak to 13 last weekend with two shutout wins against Texas Lutheran University and Schreiner College. The Tigers are now 15-2-1 overall and 12-1-0 in conference games.
“We had very few negatives this weekend. We jumped out to a great start in both games. Our intensity and focus were maybe the best they’ve been all season. Our work rate and the effort we put in this weekend was phenomenal. Everything was just first class,” said assistant coach Chesley Farmer.
On Friday, Trinity traveled to Seguin to play Texas Lutheran and won 7-0. Junior forward Victor Araujo scored first for the Tigers with a long distance strike, followed by a header from sophomore defender Tom Carwile. Carwile’s header was on a corner from senior forward Yuri Ribeiro. Two minutes later Araujo scored again. In the second half, junior midfielder Johnny Lawson scored first for the Tigers.
First-year forward Todd Edwards scored the next two goals for the Tigers; first-year midfielder Goncalo Santana assisted the first goal, and the second was a power shot from over 25 yards out. Senior midfielder Raz Forsten scored the last goal of the game on a penalty kick. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Cardone had three saves for the Tigers.
“We played pretty well on Friday. In the first half we scored a lot of goals, so that made us more confident going into the second half. We are getting better as a team; we’re extremely focused and know how good we are now. There is a lot of potential going into the championships and reaching nationals,” Araujo said.
On Sunday, the Tigers traveled to Kerrville to play Schreiner and won 6-0. Carwile scored a header in the fourth minute of the game on an assist from Ribeiro. Six minutes later, senior forward Brian Hines scored on another assist from Ribeiro. Ribeiro scored in the eighteenth minute of the game, followed by another goal from Carwile on an assist from Lawson. Lawson opened up the second half with a goal on an assist from Ribeiro, his twelfth assist of the season. Lawson leads the Tigers with 13 goals this season. Ribeiro scored the Tigers’ last goal on a penalty kick.
“We approached the game as if it was a playoff scenario. We took it seriously from the start. We came out focused and determined to get after them. We pride ourselves in putting teams under early, and we accomplished that by scoring four goals in the first half. The field was probably the worst terrain we’ve played on yet, but there were moments in the game where we moved the ball around really effectively. It might have been some of the best we’ve done all season,” said senior defender Jeff Hayes.
The Tigers conclude their regular season schedule at 8 p.m. tonight in Georgetown against Southwestern. The winner of the game will be the No. 1 seed at the SCAC Men’s Soccer Championship, which will be held next weekend in Georgetown.
“Everyone has been waiting for this game ever since we played them the first time and lost. We’re hungry for it and we’ve been preparing for it. Everyone’s determined to not only correct the mistake but prove to everyone that it was a mistake. We’re focused and really pumped for the game. We’re going to bury them,” Hayes said.
An SCAC Championship would guarantee the Tigers an automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs. which begin on Friday, Nov. 15 either at home or at an opposing school yet to be determined. If the team advances through the first and second rounds and regionals, they will return to San Antonio for the semifinals and finals at Blossom Stadium on Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7. The Tigers are pursuing their first NCAA championship since 2003 and first “Final Four” since 2007.
