After a terrific start to the 2023 season, the Tigers found themselves favorites for an at-large spot in the National Tournament. However, the South Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) proved especially tough this year, with Trinity losing two SCAC regular season games to Colorado College and Texas Lutheran University. Despite having only these two losses all year in any competition, Trinity Men’s Soccer was staring at a matchup with St. Thomas on Oct. 27 where anything but a win would lead to the Tigers missing the SCAC tournament for the first time under head coach Paul McGinlay.
The game started fast and never really slowed down as both teams knew the stakes of the game. Trinity struck first in the 24th minute when a quickly-taken free kick led to a cross from junior defender Will Powell to senior forward Chen Adjei, who headed the ball goalwards. A terrific save from St. Thomas goalkeeper Rodrigo Lazo rebounded straight to junior forward Michael Meese.
Though the initial shot was saved, Meese made no mistake when given a second chance and scored the rebound, giving Trinity the lead. Trinity’s senior goalkeeper Austin Williams made a few great saves as the game went on, and it felt like the Tigers would go into halftime with a lead, but a rocket of a shot from St. Thomas tied the game just five minutes before halftime.
St. Thomas picked up right where they left off to start the second half with a goal just eight minutes in to give them their first lead of the night. However, Trinity struck back quickly, and senior defender Jack Eubank’s free kick created chaos in the box. After some St. Thomas communication problems, Meese scored his second goal of the night just four minutes after St. Thomas took the lead.
Just six minutes later, Trinity scored again. A counterattack started by Meese led to Adjei taking a pass in stride into the box and putting the Tigers back on top. St. Thomas went into desperation mode afterward, knowing full well that their season hung in the balance. In the 87th minute, Trinity earned their final goal and clinched the victory via a penalty kick from senior midfielder Jack Downes.
The win over St. Thomas didn’t completely confirm a trip to the SCAC tournament, but a favorable matchup on Sunday, Oct. 29 against Centenary was all that was left for the Tigers. The Tigers took the game 6-1 to clinch the SCAC Tournament. The goals came from Adjei, Downes and Meese as well as junior forward Hunter Cain and sophomore midfielder Rylee Hawes. Assists came from Eubank and junior midfielder Braden Shuey as well as sophomores Zach Anderson and Luke Chandler.
This weekend, Trinity will be in the SCAC tournament in Houston, TX, competing for yet another title under the long and successful reign of head coach Paul McGinlay. Beyond that, a national tournament berth is possible if Trinity performs well in the conference tournament. Last year was the first time in 19 years that the Tigers missed the national tournament, and the team is close to restarting that postseason streak again this season.
