Trinity soccer started its 2025 season over the Aug. 31 weekend. After both programs came off conference titles and deep playoff runs, their seasons hit their first speed bumps. While neither team lost, the tie and inclement weather prevented both programs from starting the season 2-0-0.
Trinity women’s soccer played first at Paul McGinlay Field, kicking off their season at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.
“First weekend is always exciting, but with a lot of uncertainty,” women’s soccer Head Coach Dylan Harrison said. “I think they’re going to be excited to finally get to test themselves, kick somebody new, other than their teammates and show some of the things that we’ve been working on.”
The Tigers were held scoreless for the first 30 minutes against Texas A&M UniversitySan Antonio, but eventually broke through with two first half goals from senior defender Ilsa Newland and senior defensive midfielder Clara Richards. For Newland, this marked the first goal of her Trinity career after logging more than 5,000 minutes and 50 starts for the Tigers. In the second half, the scoring surged. Sophomore forward Madisyn Barganski struck twice, senior midfielder Bri Werner scored and sophomore defender Maggie Hartnett capped things off with her first Trinity goal.
The Trinity men opened their season just after 8 p.m. the same day with a different lineup from last season, featuring eight new starters, three of whom were completely new to the program.
“We lost a lot of impact players last year,” McGinlay said. “But we do every year. We hope that we do. We know that we’ll feel the loss, but it opens up the door for someone else. In each of the positions of need, we filled it.”
The season opener was marked by the return of Edward Cartee. Cartee, the head coach of Claremont-Mudd Scripps Colleges, was a former player and assistant head coach for Trinity.
“I’ve been here 35 years. He’s been here half of it,” McGinlay said. “No one knows more about the program. He’s a loyal alum, but he’s got his own show to run. It didn’t take him long to create a top program at Claremont. In the polls, this is No. 1 versus No. 2 in the West.”
Cartee’s men broke their pregame huddle loudly and started the game running hard. Neither team maintained control for the first 20 minutes, but eventually the Tigers snatched a stretch of continued possession. They scored just after halftime when senior midfielder Alex Ramirez found sophomore defender Alex Baltov, who sent in a first-touch cross towards junior forward Samuel Theiss.
Theiss then leaped off the ground and redirected the ball with his right foot while in mid-air. The ball looped just past CMS’s keeper, Miles Demarest, outstretched arms. With just over 10 minutes left, senior midfielder and last season’s Tiger top goalscorer Adam Knutson slid onto a cross from senior forward Joey Perryman, giving Trinity a 2-0 lead. CMS answered to make the score 2-1 with just over a minute later with a goal of its own. However, the Tigers held on for the one-goal win.
Two wins on Friday turned into no wins on Sunday. The men’s game started with the Tigers up 2-0 in 25 minutes against the University of St. Thomas, who were down a player after goalkeeper Paulo Valente was sent off with a straight red card for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity. This advantage wasn’t kept, though, as Mother Nature had other plans. Thunderstorms started, and after hours of delays, the game was abandoned. It is unclear when or if the game will be finished.
In the women’s game, Trinity and Pacific Lutheran University tied 1-1. Trinity’s goal came in the first five minutes when a PLU clearance fell to sophomore forward Alex Doran, who assisted Werner’s second goal of the season. Unfortunately for the Tigers, though, their efforts to find a second were futile despite having the majority of the ball for the first 30 minutes. Things shifted before the half, and PLU scored the equalizer right after halftime. From there, neither team created any clear-cut opportunities to score as the game fell into a stalemate.
“The team as a whole is frustrated with a tie in a game that we feel we could have won,” junior midfield captain Malea Cesar said. “But, there are positive things to take from it. As a captain, I’m proud of the determination we showed all the way to the end.”
Frustrated as the team may have been, Cesar said there is a whole season ahead. “It’s opening weekend, but it’s not like it’s our first game together,” Cesar said. “We’ve had three weeks with the freshmen, and we’ve had a whole spring with each other. We’re trying to remind ourselves to fall back on our preparation that started back then in Argentina.”
The women head on the road to face the University of Dallas on Friday, Sept. 5, while the men have another home doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, against Schreiner University and Kalamazoo College.