The Tigers refused to end their tournament early this past weekend, as men’s and women’s soccer battled through two rounds between Nov. 15 and Nov. 17 to advance to the Sweet 16.
With two 3-0 wins over Belhaven University and Bowdoin University at home for the men and two nail-biters in Claremont over California Lutheran University and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Tiger soccer lives to fight another week in the NCAA tournament.
The men started the weekend of playoff soccer at home with a first-round match on Nov. 15 against Belhaven University.
Belhaven’s Matthew Farais picked up two yellow cards in 21 seconds, forcing Belhaven to play more than 80 minutes of their first-ever NCAA playoff game down a man.
Belhaven shifted their strategy and stymied Trinity’s top 10 offense for almost the whole first half. Still, with just under 10 minutes left in the half, junior Trinity midfielder and top scorer Adam Knutson struck. A buildup play between Knutson and sophomore defender Cameron Smith opened up his shot from 25 yards out. Smith got the ball deep and drew defenders off Knutson giving the star midfielder the space to do what he does best.
Belhaven defended well in the second half and kept their hopes alive deep into the game. Eventually, Trinity’s pressure became too much, and the Belhaven dam burst. Sophomore midfielder Joey Perryman found an unmarked sophomore forward Samuel Theiss who scored his second goal in three games, as he also scored in the Nov. 8 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal. With a second goal under their belt, the offense began flowing and Perryman tapped one home from a brilliant Smith assist. This put Trinity up 3-0, a lead they would never relinquish, advancing them to round two.
On Nov. 16, the women had a first-round date with the reigning Division III national champions CLU. After dominating statistics throughout the regular season and in the SCAC tournament, the Tigers were completely outmatched on the stat sheet. CLU had 14 shots with seven on target to Trinity’s six shots four on target. CLU also had 12 corners to Trinity’s three.
There is only one statistic that matters in soccer though: goals. Trinity mounted a stout defensive effort led by senior goalkeeper Lauryn Lewis, who saved all seven of CLU’s shots on target. The backline was at full strength, with senior defender Ilsa Newland returning to provide the Tigers’ impressive first-year center-back duo with support down the stretch. Trinity got their one goal to win it in the 66th minute as a huge defensive error from CLU proved costly when sophomore forward Madisyn Barganski pounced and sent the Tigers through to the second round.
Less than 30 minutes after the finish of the women’s game, the men were in action against Bowdoin at home. Despite Trinity’s six first-half shots to Bowdoin’s one, the game was tied with under five minutes to go in the first half. A corner kick from senior midfielder Louis Instrall was dropped inside the six-yard box where almost every player on the field was jostling for position. After an unfortunate bounce for Bowdoin off the head of a defender, junior defender Luke Chandler tucked the ball home at the back post sending the Tigers into halftime with the lead.
The Tigers, Adam Knutson in particular, came out fast to start the second half. Under five minutes into the half, senior defender Ty Jarrett created space up the left wing and sent a cross to unmarked senior defender Will Powell at the back post. Bowdoin goalkeeper Alex Ainsworth saved Powell’s shot and Powell was taken out by a defender. The Tiger bench erupted with cries for a penalty, but Adam Knutson was unphased as he slid in, scooped up the loose ball and tucked it into the far corner to take a 2-0 lead. Then, less than five minutes later, Knutson shocked McGinlay field.
“I got the ball from Juli [first-year midfielder Julian Lopez] and dribbled inside,” Knutson said, “I just thought, ‘Why not just have a rip?’ It came off the sweet spot.”
Off the sweet spot, the ball launched towards the top left corner as Knutson had struck across the ball. However, due to the clever way Knutson struck it, the ball swerved without outside spin back across into the top right corner sending everyone into a frenzy. Head coach Paul McGinlay praised the whole team after they cruised to a 3-0 win.
“We’ve played very well in many games this season,” McGinlay said. “We haven’t played that well. It was about as complete a performance as a Trinity team has ever put together in 90 minutes, home, away, regular season or tournament.”
With one Tiger team booked into the Sweet 16, the women refused to be left out. Once again, they were statistically outplayed. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges outshot Trinity through regulation and two overtime periods, with 21 shots and 14 on target to just five shots and four on target for Trinity.
In the 69th minute, a freekick into the box deflected to an opportunistic Madisyn Barganski, who scored Trinity’s lone goal once again. The lead was short-lived, however, as Pomona captain Ella Endo equalized less than 10 minutes later off an assist from star forward Hannah Hong and first-year defender Emily Chang. Lewis was unbelievable down the stretch to force overtime and eventually penalties.
While the backline benefited from SCAC Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Harris and the returning Newland, the star of the game was no question: Lauryn Lewis in goal. Lewis managed 13 saves on the 14 shots she faced, including a stretching foot save as the second half expired to force overtime and eventually penalties.
“I think entering playoffs you have to enter another mindset,” Lewis said, “It’s time for me to do my part and step up in those big moments. … I’ve been doing it all year in practice, now it’s just time to show it in a game.”
Sophomore Malea Cesar stepped up first and scored her penalty in the shootout, but Pomona tied it and goalkeeper Patricia DePalma saved Trinity’s second shot. Pomona’s Hong and Trinity senior forward Maya Ozymy buried their penalties to tie it at 2-2 before Lewis came up big again, answering DePalma’s save to even the odds. Junior midfielder Bri Werner converted her penalty and Lewis saved another to put Trinity in position to win the game. Ilsa Newland struck the post on Trinity’s final penalty but so did Pomona’s Spencer Deutz as Lewis’s heroics proved enough to send the Tigers through.
The Trinity men will face Babson College at Middlebury on Nov. 23 at noon. If they win, they will face the winner of Middlebury College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. The women will be in Scranton, PA to face Michael Scott and the 14th-ranked Scranton University on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. With a win, they’d face the winner of Washington and Lee University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
