The third-ranked Trinity men’s soccer team secured two victories over conference foes Centenary College (La.) and Colorado College (Co.) Oct. 3-5 at home.

Oct. 3 they earned a shutout victory 5-0 over the Centenary College Gents. Oct. 5 they earned another close shutout victory over No. 16 ranked Colorado College 1-0.

Friday night, the game remained scoreless after the first half.

“I thought in the first half they played really defensively and we were just struggling to penetrate because we would hold onto the ball for too long in attacking positions,” said senior Johnny Lawson. “In the second half, our intensity picked up, we moved the ball a lot quicker and we just started running at them with the ball.”

In the 48th minute, senior Victor Araujo scored the game-winning goal with the assist coming from first year Brent Mandlekorn.

In the second half, Lawson netted a hat trick within 10 minutes of play.

He scored in the 58th minute with an assist from sophomore Francisco Vasquez and then again four minutes later with an assist from senior Roberto Camargo. His final goal came in the 68th minute when he tapped the ball in on a rebound goal with the assists coming from junior Murray Fraser and senior Connor McKeon.

Senior Ryan Lord capped off the scoring for the Tigers with his first goal of the season in the 82nd minute with an assist from sophomore Todd Edwards.

Trinity took over sole possession of first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with their win over Colorado College Sunday afternoon.

“Sunday’s game was really just a brawl and an all-out battle in every area of the field. The boys were confident””we knew that we could get it done””it’s just never going to be easy when you play a capable opponent like that,” said assistant coach Edward Cartee.

There was no scoring in the first half, but lots of back-and-forth play.

“That’s one of the better teams that we have played, so it’s definitely a different atmosphere,” said first year Kellen Reid. “You have to be a lot more focused; any little mistake can cost you the game.”

Reid scored the game-winner””the only goal scored in the match””in the 57th minute with the assist coming from fellow first year Daniel Ruano.

“Just by continuing to believe and be persistent and be forward-thinking and positive in the way that we kept attacking their goal I think we were able to eventually break them down,” Cartee said.

After this weekend, the Tigers have won eight straight games, improving to 11-1-0 and 7-0-0 in conference play. The win against Colorado College was the fourth consecutive clean-sheet game for the Tigers and the sixth this season.

Senior goalkeeper Matt Cardone has played a huge role in preserving those shutout victories for the Tigers. He has played a total of 12 games this season recording 35 saves and only allowing eight goals against him.

“Matt Cardone played really well. He’s an outstanding player. As a senior goalkeeper and captain, he showed his leadership and came up really big for us,” Cartee said.

The Tigers play both teams again this weekend in SCAC play on the road. At 5 p.m. tonight  they play Centenary College  in Shreveport, La. At noon on Sunday, Oct. 12 they play against Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Co.