Trinity men’s soccer returned to the Sweet 16 to face Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) on Nov. 22. The Tigers had not made it past the Sweet 16 since 2015, but after beating WashU and Augsburg University, the Tigers will return to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2007. The Tigers outscored their opponents 15-0 in their four NCAA playoff games, making them the highest-scoring and leading defensive team in the tournament.
The No. 5 Tigers faced No. 12 WashU in St. Louis for the first matchup of the NCAA Playoff Sectionals. Despite WashU’s home field advantage, Trinity quickly established consistent possession, making it difficult for the Bears to work their way out of their own defensive end. WashU managed an early chance on the counter, but junior goalkeeper Jayden Schell made two saves in quick succession to deny a goal against the run of play.
A few minutes later, junior defender Luke Mayfield sent a long ball over the top to junior midfielder Samuel Theiss. Theiss drove inside and sent in a low cross, which WashU goalkeeper Cal L’Hommedieu pushed away from senior midfielder Adam Knutson. The ball went straight into the path of senior midfielder Alex Ramirez who scored, giving Trinity the lead.
After the first half, WashU had no shots on goal, and the ball hardly ever left the Bears’ defensive end. The Tigers tallied two more goals in the second half, scoring their second in the 64th minute, when a mis-hit clearance bounced right in front of Thiess. He struck it in midair and into the bottom corner of the net. Trinity added a third goal with under eight minutes to play. Junior midfielder Justin Sukow expanded Trinity’s lead to three with assists from first-year midfielder Thomas Kay and senior forward Joey Perryman.
On Nov. 23, Trinity faced the No. 2 team in the country, Augsburg University, marking the only time all season the Tigers had been outranked by an opponent. The Tigers opened the scoring just over 15 minutes into the first half when sophomore midfielder Julian Lopez’s free kick redirected straight to Knutson, who rifled the bouncing ball into the bottom corner. Trinity added a second goal before halftime when an Augsburg defender turned Knutson’s cross into their own net in an attempt to keep the ball from reaching Sukow at the back post.
After the half, Augsburg sustained some possession for the first time in the game, preventing the Tigers from escaping their defensive end. The Auggies rattled the crossbar and forced a save out of Schell, but the Tigers backline remained firm as Augsburg’s pressure only produced three shots.
After being stuck in their own defensive third for nearly 20 minutes, Trinity broke out on a counterattack. While their attack down the right flank stalled, the Tigers recycled the ball to the top of the Auggie’s box, where Lopez laid it back to sophomore defender Alex Baltov. Baltov received the ball with no defenders around him, took a touch and struck the ball from 30 yards out. The ball skidded across the face of the goal and nestled into the far-side bottom corner.
Trinity added two more goals to beat the Auggies 5-0. Perryman, assisted by senior forward Clayton Holmes, scored the final two goals in the last five minutes of the game.
After a weekend off, Trinity will travel to Salem, Va. to take on No. 6 Emory University in the NCAA semifinals on Dec. 5 at either 2 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. If Trinity wins, they will play in the NCAA Division III National Championship on Dec. 7 at 11 a.m.
