San Antonio - The second-ranked Trinity women's soccer team wrapped up its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend with a 3-0 shutout over Southwestern University on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity improved to 11-0-1 overall, and now stands at 6-0-0 in its SCAC campaign. The Tigers also won their ninth straight game, and posted an eighth consecutive clean-sheet matchup. In those eight shutout games, Trinity has allowed only 15 shots on goal, including one against Southwestern in today's matchup.
When asked about the streak of keeping the opposition scoreless, Head Coach Lance Key had this to say about his defense: "I think part of being a good defensive group is doing a good job when you have possession. Whether that's in terms of organization, or in purposeful possession that allows you to create goal-scoring opportunities to keep pressure on the opposing team in the back third. I think with us forcing the issue in the final third, our attacking third, that's a big part of us not giving up much."
The offense has also come alive in the last several contests, scoring three or more goals in six straight games. Today, Kimberly Polasek fired in the eventual game-winner in the fourth minute of action, taking a nice entry pass from Julia Kelly, and ensuring that the Tigers could play with the lead for nearly the entire game. It marked the second goal of the year for the senior captain, as well as the first game-winner.
In the 28th minute, Trinity capitalized on a corner kick from the foot of Jordan Leeper. Leeper found Emily Donnan on the back post for the goal, giving that connection two goals in three games this week. Donnan has scored in three straight for the Tigers, after also scoring a goal in Friday's win over Texas Lutheran.
Allison Carter capped off the scoring in the 68th minute, netting a goal for the second straight game after receiving the entry pass from Kathy Millar. Carter's goal in Friday was the eventual game-winner, and the two goals this weekend were her first this season.
Janie Thompson was the starting goalkeeper, registering a save on Southwestern's lone shot on goal. Dana McLaughlin and Kalli Douma took over in the second half to finish off the Trinity shutout.
"In terms of success in finding the net, we have been doing a good job with the ball as it relates to decision-making," revealed Coach Key. "Sometimes I feel like we could be a little faster, but overall, our decisions have been high quality, and have created opportunities for us to score goals. That enables us to keep up the pressure on the opposition, and relieve pressure on us. The longer the games remain close, the more the game can swing either way. The power of momentum has great influence on the match, and when you can push the lead to two or three goals, those swings of momentum are less impactful."
After a flurry of action with nine games over the last 19 days, Trinity has a bit of a break by not returning to the field until Friday, October 9, for another SCAC game against the University of Dallas.
Coach Key concluded with this: "We have been able to sustain a lot over the last couple of weeks. I know I have made reference to all these games in a short amount of time, but our kids have done a remarkable job of managing it. I think they have shown a lot of fortitude physically and mentally. They have managed these nine games in 19 days as well as anyone could be expected to manage it."
