The Trinity men’s soccer team continued their early season dominance this past week, winning all three of their matches. These three games have put the team at a 4-0-0 record and make them the only team in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with an undefeated season.
Monday night was the team’s first away game of the season against the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. The first half of the game was scoreless, and senior goalkeeper Todd Whittaker blocked four goal attempts from Mary-Hardin Baylor, keeping them off the scoreboard.
In the second half, the Tigers scored three goals within a fairly short time period. At 57 minutes, junior Brent Mandelkorn scored the first goal of the game, followed closely by a second goal at 61 minutes by junior Kellen Reid. The third and final goal of the game was scored at 64 minutes by sophomore Austin Michaelis, marking his third goal of the 2016 season.
The UMHB Crusaders fought hard throughout the game, blocking six goal shots by the Tigers to stop them from pulling further ahead, but in the end they were no match for the nationally ranked team. The Tigers walked away with a 3-0 victory.
The second game of the week was last Friday night at home against Hardin-Simmons. The Tigers took control the first half, scoring the only goal of the half about 14 minutes in. The goal was scored by junior Chris Madden with the assist by junior Daniel Ruanà¶.
The game remained 1-0 until 47 minutes when the Cowboys were given a penalty kick and Cole Johnson scored their lone goal of the match. But the Tigers came back strong, and at 69 minutes senior Zac Treu attempted a shot that was blocked, with sophomore Ryan Hunter grabbing the the rebound and secured the Tiger’s second and go-ahead goal. The third and final goal of the game was made at 85 minutes by sophomore Laurence Wyke, resulting in a Tiger victory of 3-1.
This game marked the eighth time the Trinity Tigers had beaten the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys, and the second time this season.
The third and final win of the week was Saturday night against the University of Texas at Dallas. This game kept Trinity historically undefeated against UT-Dallas. After a scoreless first half, the second half saw the Tigers score two goals in rapid succession. At 48 minutes, the first goal of the game was scored by Reid, marking his second goal of the week. Merely forty seconds later, Madden made a pass to Mandelkorn, who scored the second and final goal of the game. Goalkeeper Whittaker blocked three goal attempts throughout the game, bringing his total to 12 saves this season. The Tiger’s men walked away with their fourth win of the season after the 2-0 UT-Dallas sweep, and they look strong going into their next home game against conference rival Colorado College this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m. Following that match, the team will play two more home games on Sunday at noon against University of Dallas and Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Schreiner University.
