The No. 6 nationally ranked Trinity Men's Soccer team (9-1-0) looks to continue their fine form as they return home on Saturday to face off against the Centre College Colonels at 2:00 p.m.

Last weekend, the No. 6 Trinity Tigers continued their impressive run of form with back-to-back conference victories, combining late drama with clinical finishing to extend their unbeaten streak to three. On Friday night, the Tigers battled past Oglethorpe in a tense 2-1 road win. After dominating much of the match, Trinity finally broke through early in the second half when Samuel Theiss (Boerne, Texas / Boerne) converted on his own rebound from the penalty spot. The Stormy Petrels equalized in the 81st minute, but the Tigers had the final word as Julian Lopez (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal) curled a late free-kick into the box that found its way into the net for the dramatic 87th-minute winner.

Two days later, Trinity carried that momentum into a commanding 4-1 victory at Berry College. Senior captain Theiss struck twice, including a first-half curler and a second-half penalty, while Aiden Perales (Corpus Christi, Texas / Veterans Memorial) and Joey Perryman (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) combined for a slick first-half goal. Thomas Kay (Stanstead Mountfitchet, England / Bishop's Stortford) added a second penalty late on to seal the result. With the sweep, the Tigers improved to 9-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in SAA play, cementing themselves as early favorites in the conference title race.

SAA Offensive Player of the Week - Samuel Theiss
 
From the SAA press release: 
 
Theiss led the sixth-ranked Trinity University men's soccer team to SAA road wins over both Oglethorpe University (GA) and Berry College (GA) over the weekend. He tallied three total goals over the two games, scoring the first goal in each contest to put the Tigers on top 1-0 each time. After a scoreless first half against Oglethorpe on Friday, Theiss put in a penalty kick rebound for a goal in the 49th minute to give Trinity a much-needed boost. Sunday afternoon against Berry, he scored the first goal of the game just past the 16-minute mark, then added his second in the 60th minute on a PK redemption to give Trinity a comfortable 3-0 cushion with just 30 minutes left.
 
Preview
 
The No. 6 Trinity Tigers look forward to a one-game week as they match up against fellow SAA foe the Centre College Colonels on Saturday, October 11th, at 2:00 p.m.
 
On the Centre College Colonels: Centre College is a familiar foe for the Tigers, with the two programs meeting 22 times in their storied history. Trinity holds a 15-5 edge in the all-time series, though the last encounter came back in 2011, a narrow 1-0 win for the Colonels.
 
Last season, Centre College put together an 11-4-3 record and made a strong run in the SAA Conference Tournament, narrowly falling 1-0 in the semi-final to Rhodes College after defeating Berry College in the quarter-finals 2-0. Since then, the Colonels have graduated three of their four 2024 All-SAA honorable mention honorees but return both of their All-Region VI selections, keeping much of their experienced core intact as they look to build on last year's success.
 
This fall, however, Centre has struggled to find consistency. The Colonels dropped both of their opening matches and have gone winless in their last four, recording two losses and two draws. Last weekend, they opened SAA conference play with a 1-0 loss to a strong Millsaps squad, who have notched an impressive six wins so far this season, before battling to a 1-1 draw against Rhodes College
 
Players to watch out for: Centre's key contributors include senior defender Finnegan Deem-Ranzetta, a 2024 First-Team All-SAA and Second-Team All-Region honoree who leads from the back and shares the team scoring lead with two goals. Sophomore midfielder Tyler Smith has been another bright spark, starting every match and matching Deem-Ranzetta's two-goal tally. Then, finally, senior midfielder AJ Daniels, a 2024 First-Team All-SAA and Third-Team All-Region selection, remains a creative entity in the center of the pitch with an assist to his name this season.
 
Looking Ahead
 
The Tigers will hit the road on Saturday, October 18th, at 6:00 p.m. for an SAA matchup against the Sewanee University Tigers in Sewanee, Tennessee.