SAN ANTONIO – The 11th-ranked Trinity men's soccer team opened the season in fine fashion, winning 2-1 over the No.17 nationally ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags on a hot evening at Paul McGinlay Field.

From the opening whistle, Trinity set the tone offensively, piling on pressure in the final third. The Tigers recorded three corner kicks in the first four minutes and went on to outshoot CMS 21-5 on the night. Despite Trinity's relentless attack, the Stags' goalkeeper came up with key saves in the first half, stopping early efforts from Samuel Theiss (Boerne, Texas / Boerne) and Luke Chandler (Glasgow, Scotland / Balfron) to keep the game scoreless. By halftime, Trinity had registered 10 shots and six corners but had nothing to show for their dominance, while CMS failed to put a single shot on goal. 

The breakthrough finally came just minutes into the second half. In the 47th minute, Alex Ramirez (Houston, Texas / Humble) played a delicious ball down the left flank and in behind for the speedy sophomore Alex Baltov (Shreveport, La. / Caddo Parish Magnet), who whipped the ball in towards the near post for the oncoming Theiss to glance home and give Trinity a 1-0 lead. The Tigers continued to press, and after a flurry of substitutions and missed chances, they doubled their advantage in the 79th minute. This time, it was Adam Knutson (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) who finished off a crisp sequence assisted by Joey Perryman (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and Thomas Kay (Stanstead Mountfitchet, England / Bishop's Stortford), capping off Trinity's fluid attacking play and extending the lead to 2–0.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who had struggled to generate consistent chances all game, responded almost immediately. Just over a minute later, Lee capitalized on a ball from Bang and tucked away CMS's only shot on goal of the match, cutting the deficit to 2–1. The goal gave the Stags some late momentum, but Trinity's defense and midfield held firm through the final 10 minutes, preventing CMS from finding an equalizer. 
 
Up Next
The Tigers will be back on Paul McGinlay Field at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday for a feisty rematch of the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship final against the St Thomas University Celts.