SAN ANTONIO – The 23rd-ranked Tiger women's soccer team opened its final weekend of the regular season with a 9-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Schreiner University on Friday night.

Senior Kaity Ward (Phoenix, Ariz. / Xavier College Prep) broke a pair of school records in her regular season home finale, scoring five goals and and 11 total points to lead Trinity to the win. She broke the single-game record for goals that was originally set in 1998 and was tied eight times since then by Trinity players.

Ward started modestly with a pair of scores in the first half, then scored a second-half hat trick with three goals in a span of just under four minutes to break the Tiger record. One minute after her record-breaking goal, she assisted on another goal that gave her an 11-point night that breaks Jennifer Wray's record of 10 points that was set against Millsaps College (MS) in 2005.

The five goals scored by Ward tonight are tied for the second-most in SCAC history and she is the first player since 2016 to score five or more in a game. Her 11 points is also now the fifth-highest total in conference history.

The Rundown

Despite the lopsided final score, Schreiner was the first team on the board with a goal in the fifth minute. The Tigers had several chances to draw even but the visitors held the lead until the 28th minute when Ward finally got the equalizer to make it 1-1. Ward slipped behind the defense with a long pass and an assist from Reese Wallace (Oak Park, Calif. / Oak Park).

Just over two minutes later, Alex Walsh (Tulsa Okla. / Booker T. Washington) scored the eventual game-winner on an assist from Molly Sheridan (St. Louis, Mo. / Kirkwood).

Ward added her second score of the night with less than seven minutes left in the first half. This time it was a long pass from Cassie Bowers (Lafayette, La. / Episcopal School of Acadiana) to Kyra Stafford (Albuquerque, N.M. / Hope Christian) that got the play started. Stafford was alone on the left side as she approached the box to draw out the keeper. As soon as that happened, Stafford crossed a pass over to Ward for the tap-in score into an empty net.

Bowers got in on the scoring in the 43rd minute to make it a 4-1 Tiger lead at the half. Michaela Bosco (Weatherford, Texas / Weatherford) provided the assist with her cross from the right side of the field, and Bowers scored from inside the six-yard box.

Ward began her streak of three straight scores in the 54th minute, as Camryn Beall (Morrison, Colo. / Colorado Academy) provided the assist. Ward then tied the record two minutes later on an assist from Walsh. Schreiner punted the ball short and Walsh took it out of the air and played it forward to Ward, who took it the rest of the way.

The record-breaker came on a play that was actually started by Ward on a free kick. That kick made its way into the box but was partially cleared by the Schreiner defense. Ashlyn Zingelmann (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) got the loose ball and sent it back into the box where Ward was waiting to redirect it into the net for a 7-1 Trinity lead and a new Tiger record.

Ward was quick to break her second record just a minute later on an outstanding and unselfish play. Ward got the ball around midfield and dribbled through the defense all the way into the box. She dropped it off for Sheridan just as the keeper came out to make a play, and Sheridan knocked the ball into the empty net for the 8-1 advantage.

Bosco finished off the prolific scoring night for the Tigers with a goal in the 76th minute of play. Isabel Makulski (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) lofted a free kick into the box and it cleared everyone but Bosco on the far side of the goal. Bosco calmly waited for the ball to come down after a bounce, and slashed it past the keeper for the game's final tally.

Numbers to Note

With her prolific scoring night, Ward now has 15 goals in 14 games played this season. She also has a team-leading 11 assists to total 41 points.

Walsh's goal was her first of the 2021 season and just her second career game-winner. She also picked up her seventh assist of the season.

Sheridan now has 11 goals and nine assists this season and is second to only Ward in scoring this season, totaling 31 points for the Tigers.

Bosco now has six goals and six assists for 18 total points and is third on the team in goals and points.

Beall, Zingelmann, and Wallace all scored their second assists of the season, while Makulski had her first of the year, and Stafford notched assist number five.

Lauryn Lewis (Carrolton, Texas / Creekview) earned the win in goal for the Tigers, playing all 90 minutes in her third start of the year.

Coach Speak

"Adjustments were needed a little early into the game, but our team is up fro the task of changing to succeed," revealed Assistant Coach Spencer Valdespino. "Although our guests started eating before us, we got our plates soon after and treated ourselves to nine dishes on the night. We all left the field full for our final home game of the regular season."

Up Next

The Tigers conclude their regular season schedule with a road game against Division I University of Texas-San Antonio on Sunday at 7:00 p.m.