No. 13 Trinity University Men's Soccer will play host for the first and second rounds of the NCAA III Soccer Playoffs this weekend.
 
The Tigers (17-0-3) earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the SCAC Tournament on Sunday. In their journey to the final, Trinity defeated Southwestern 1-0 in the SCAC Semi-final with the game winning goal coming from Samuel Theiss (Boerne, Texas / Boerne). In the championship game, the Tigers beat the University of St Thomas 4-2, with goals from Hunter Cain (Katy, Texas / Cinco Ranch), Zach Anderson (Davis, CA / Davis), Will Powell (London, England / Beth's Grammar School) and Ty Jarrett (Austin, Texas Westlake). The Tigers go into the tournament as the only team to be in the top 10 for scoring offense (5th with 3.45 goals per game) and team goals against average (6th with .500 goals against). 
 
Preview - Tigers vs Blazers
 
The Tigers will face off against the Blazers of Belhaven University on Friday, November 15th at 5:00 PM. The Tigers and Blazers have never met prior to this game.
 
On the Belhaven Blazers: The Blazers finished the regular season 8-2-3 (4-1-1 CCS). The Blazers earned an automatic bid to the tournament after defeating Covenant College 2-0 in the CCS Championship. Offensively, the Blazers have averaged 2.11 goals per game. The Blazers leading goalscorer is Wesley Bloodworth, with 9 goals so far this season. 
 
Key To The Game
 
Get The Ball To The Front: The Tigers have a plethora of goal scorers at the top, including 2024 SCAC Offensive Player of the Year Adam Knutson (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs). The Tigers have more than just one weapon, though. Trinity also has senior midfielder Hunter Cain who is second on the team in terms of points and goals. The Tigers have one of the top scoring offenses in the country and multiple players that can score the ball at any moment. 
 
Looking Ahead - NCAA Playoffs Round Two
 
With a win, the Tigers will move on to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs against the winner of the Hardin-Simmons versus Bowdoin match on Saturday, November 16th at 7:00 PM.