SAN ANTONIO - Trinity University Women's Soccer rallied for a trio of first-half goals en route to a 3-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Texas Lutheran University at McGinlay Field Saturday afternoon.
The undefeated Tigers (6-0 SCAC) rebounded from an early score by the Bulldogs (2-4 SCAC) with a pair from junior forward Kaity Ward (Phoenix, Ariz. / Xavier College Prep) and one more from sophomore forward Molly Sheridan (St. Louis, Mo. / Kirkwood) to reach the eventual halftime and final margin and to collect the top seed in the upcoming SCAC Championship tournament
First-year keeper Joey Finley (Albuquerque, N.M. / Early College Academy) collected her second victory in consecutive matches as she kept Texas Lutheran out of the net after the fifth-minute goal.
Trinity Women's Soccer concludes the SCAC regular season with a trip east to Centenary College next Saturday.
The Rundown
The Tigers fell behind in the fifth minute on an incredible shot by the Bulldogs' Samantha Martinez that just leaked into the upper-right corner from 25-plus yards out. The Trinity defense allowed just seven shots, only one of which on goal, from that point forward.
The offense responded immediately as Ward collected both of her pair of scores between the 10th and 13th minutes.
In the 10th, senior defender Lindsey Peng (Spring, Texas / Klein Collins) put a well-executed corner kick square in-between the posts for Ward to rise over the Bulldog back line and head the ball in for her first strike.
In the 13th, sophomore defender Nyah Shepherd (Deer Park, Texas / Deer Park South) set up a free kick from over 30 yards out and lofted the pass to the backside post where Ward snuck past the crowd and punched it past the TLU keeper.
The afternoon's scoring concluded in the 25th minute as Sheridan was set up by another Shepherd dime. From nearly the same location as the free kick that preceeded Ward's second score, Shepherd launched the ball toward the top of the 18-yard box and to Sheridan's defender-less back shoulder so the sophomore forward could turn, square and fire upon the Bulldog keeper.
Notable Numbers
Ward now leads the scoring column for the Tigers with eight goals through her five matches. Sheridan and first-year midfielder Tedi Del Prete (Albuquerque, N.M. / Hope Christian) round out the multi-goal scorers at seven and three, respectively.
Shepherd inched into second in Trinity's assists leaderboard behind junior midfielder Alex Walsh (Tulsa, Okla. / Booker T. Washington) with her second and third assists on the season in Saturday's matchup to Walsh's five.
Coach Speak
"It's great to win on senior day," said Head Coach Dylan Harrison; "It's great when that senior even picks up an assist. It's great to be regular-season SCAC champions. It's more-than great to be Lindsey Peng's teammate, it's simply awesome!"
Up Next
Trinity Women's Soccer rounds out the 2020-21 SCAC schedule with a road trip to Shereveport, La. for a visit to Centenary College on Saturday.
With the SCAC Championship tournament's top seed in tow, the Tigers are slated to host their quarterfinal matchup in the upcoming conference postseason action on the weekend of April 17. Date, time and opponent will be decided following the final weekend of regular season SCAC action.
