SAN ANTONIO – No. 8 Trinity University Women's Soccer will conclude its regular-season and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition this weekend as it hosts Southwestern University (Friday, 6:00 p.m.) and Texas Lutheran University (Sunday, Noon) at Paul McGinlay Field.
The Tigers (16-0-1, 12-0 SCAC) remained undefeated for the 2022 campaign after last weekend's eastbound trip in league play as they took out University of St. Thomas, 3-0, last Friday in Houston and Centenary College, 4-0, in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday.
On a 15-match winning streak since September 9, Trinity has collected 12 shutouts in a row and has scored three or more times in each of its last 10.
The striking duo of sophomore Michaela Bosco (Weatherford, Texas / Weatherford) and senior Molly Sheridan (St. Louis, Mo. / Kirkwood) continue to keep pace the nation's best as they each rank 17th in NCAA III with 16 goals apiece, and the second-best combined mark for any pair of teammates in NCAA III thus far in 2022. For good measure, the duo ranks 13th and 17th, respectively, in total points (41 and 38) while Bosco also leads NCAA III as one of just two players with seven game-winning goals to their credit.
No. 8 Trinity Women's Soccer will remain in San Antonio following this weekend's pair as it has been tasked with host duties for the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship November 4-6.
NCAA III Rankings – Polls Sit Tight at No. 8, No. 1 in Region 10
The pendulum continues to swing between the seventh and eighth spots in the weekly D3soccer.com poll as the Tigers shifted back to No. 8 this week, matching their eighth-place ranking by United Soccer Coaches that they have held for four weeks straight.
The NCAA announced its first rank-order regional rankings for NCAA III Women's Soccer Wednesday, with Trinity squarely atop the Region 10 leaderboard. The other undefeated team in Texas, No. 14/16 University of Mary Hardin Baylor, fell in line for second in the region, followed by a pair of Northwest Conference contenders from Washington in University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University, ranked 22nd and 19th, respectively in this week's D3soccer.com poll.
Preview – The End of the SCAC Regular Season
The seemingly unlimited scoring prowess of Bosco and Sheridan is backed up by a third double-digit scorer in first-year Hanna Kahn (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) at 11 goals for the season. Powered in large part by this trio, Trinity ranks fifth in NCAA III in total goals in 2022.
The Tigers have also claimed the nation's second-best Goals-Against Average at 0.118 through their streak of 12 shutouts. Sophomore keeper Lauryn Lewis (Carrollton, Texas / Creekview) ranks fifth in NCAA III with a 0.200 mark in the same category, while Lewis and four other Trinity players have each earned the title of SCAC Defensive Player of the Week at some point this season: a group led by senior Bailey Meyer (Southlake, Texas / Carroll).
On the Pirates: Southwestern enters Friday's 6:00 p.m. match third in the SCAC at 9-4-4, (9-2-1 SCAC) this season, but are winners of four straight, all in league play. The Pirates have found plenty of opportunities for set pieces this season as they rank 33rd in NCAA III in corner kicks per game (6.71), a category Trinity ranks 26th in nationally (6.88).
Friday night's match will be preceded by Senior Day festivities for the Tigers, recognizing the careers of Meyer, Sheridan, Cassie Bowers (Lafayette, La. / Episcopal School of Acadiana), Emma Everts (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa), Bella Ferruzzi (McKinney, Texas / Boyd), Alana Wickham (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) and Ashlyn Zingelmann (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis).
On the Bulldogs: Texas Lutheran will battle Schreiner University Friday night ahead of the presumptive showdown of No. 1 and No. 2 in the SCAC as the Bulldogs hold the runner-up seed at 10-2 in conference, 10-6-1 overall. TLU's offense is led by sophomore Alyssa Simien with 14 goals this season, ranked 30th in NCAA III.
Looking Ahead: 2022 SCAC Championship
No. 8 Trinity Women's Soccer will host the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship November 4-6. A victory or draw in either of this weekend's contests will lock the Tigers in as the No. 1 seed for the league tournament.
