San Antonio - The second-ranked Trinity men's soccer team opens competition at the NCAA Division III Sectional at Wheaton (IL) College on Friday night.

The Tigers (23-1-0) are paired with No. 7 Loras College (17-2-2) in the third round of the tournament, starting at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to Saturday's quarterfinal round at  5 p.m. The other third-round game pits host Wheaton (19-3-0), ranked eighth, against No. 16 Wartburg College (14-3-5).

The team which emerges from the Sectional will advanced to the NCAA semifinals December 5 at Kansas City, Missouri. The semifinals winners will play for the NCAA Championship December 6.

Last season, the Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals held at Loras in Dubuque, Iowa. Trinity beat Wartburg 2-1 in a third-round double-overtime matchup, and lost 2-1 to Loras in the quarterfinals.

Trinity, led by 24th-year Head Coach McGinlay, has led the program to its 13th straight NCAA berth, and 18th overall. The Tigers edged Hardin-Simmons University 2-1 in this season's first round at Richardson, Texas, and then beat the host University of Texas-Dallas 1-0 in the second round.  The Tigers captured the NCAA Championship in 2003, and finished as the runner-up in 2007.