Trinity University

SEWANEE, TN - Trinity University Men's Soccer (7-2-5) extended its unbeaten run to 11 matches on Friday afternoon, beating Sewanee (11-3-2) 4-1 at Puett Field.

The Tigers knew a trip to Sewanee's small field, against a side riding a four-game winning streak, would be a tough test, and the opening half hour bore that out. Trinity moved the ball better, but Sewanee created the better chances, and it took an outstanding one-on-one save from Jayden Schell (Dallas, Texas / Plano) to keep the hosts off the board. At the other end, captain Daniel Urquidi (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock), thriving in his new attacking role, whipped in an inch-perfect ball for Hodge MacDonald (Hertford, England / Haileybury), who couldn't quite get a clean connection and sent his effort from six yards straight into the arms of Sewanee goalkeeper Gunzenhauser.

The breakthrough came in the 34th minute. Ethan Cowdrey (Crawley, England / Ardingly College) picked up the ball deep in his own half and played a searching long ball up the line into the path of Gabriel Romanenko (Los Angeles, California / Geffen Academy). Romanenko brought it down in stride with a defender on top of him, drove to the byline and whipped it across the six-yard box, where Eloy Ferrer (Houston, Texas / Tompkins) darted to the front post and turned it past Gunzenhauser with his first touch of the game, just 12 seconds after coming on.

Trinity pushed for the second goal that has been hard to come by lately but couldn't find it, and went into the break up 1-0, knowing another goal would go a long way toward killing the game off. Sewanee held a 7-5 edge in first-half shots, with Schell making three saves.

Trinity has sometimes eased off after taking a lead this season, but it came out of halftime the better side. Less than ten minutes into the half, though, Sewanee swung a ball into the box, and although the Tigers' defenders appeared to have kept the forward from getting a shot away, the referee pointed to the spot, ruling that Luke Mayfield (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) had wrapped his arms around the attacker. It was a soft call at a pivotal moment, with an equalizer threatening to swing the momentum to the hosts.

Schell then did what he does best. Sewanee's Grayson White, a 2025 United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Region selection who hadn't missed in his last 15 attempts from the spot, drove his penalty toward the bottom right-hand corner, but Schell guessed right, diving to his left to make a brilliant save and keep Trinity in front.

The save swung the game in Trinity's favor, and five minutes later the Tigers had their second. Urquidi picked up the ball on the left wing, drove toward the byline and lasered a ball across the six-yard box to his strike partner, Eduardo Parra (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma / Casady School), who finished first time into the roof of the net in the 59th minute. It was Parra's team-leading eighth goal of the season and his third in as many matches, and it sent the Trinity sideline into celebration.

With the pressure lifted, the Tigers played with real confidence. In the 68th minute, Thomas Kay (Stansted Mountfitchet, England / The Bishop's Stortford) capped a strong second half by taking a perfect touch outside the box and unleashing a 30-yard strike that dipped and weaved into the top left-hand corner, off the underside of the crossbar and in. It was Kay's first goal of the season, Trinity's best individual goal of the year, and his second in as many visits to Puett Field, after his equalizer sparked last year's 2-1 comeback win here.

The fourth goal, in the 81st minute, was a brilliant team effort. Jeremy Siau (Granite Bay, California / Granite Bay) curled a ball in behind from deep at right back for MacDonald, who headed his first touch into his own path at full sprint and carried it into the box. MacDonald shaped to cross early, drew a sliding defender, then took another touch toward the byline and cut it back to the penalty spot, where Ferrer arrived to curl it first time into the left side of the net. It was Ferrer's second of the afternoon, scored barely a minute after he came back on, and gave him three goals in just 170 minutes of action this season.

Sewanee pulled one back in the 84th minute through McConnell, who curled a free kick into the top right-hand corner, giving Schell no chance and putting a slight damper on Trinity's defensive performance that had probably earned a clean sheet. 

Sewanee finished with a 14-12 edge in shots and 5-4 in corners, but Trinity was clinical, scoring on four of its five shots on goal. Schell made five saves, including the penalty, and held White and McGowan, who came in with 16 goals between them, without a goal. The win improves Trinity to 24-0 all-time against Sewanee, extending an unbeaten run in the series that dates back to 1991, and ends the hosts' four-game winning streak. Schell and Ferrer both made strong cases for SAA Player of the Week honors with standout performances at either end.

Up Next

Trinity stays in Tennessee and makes the short trip to Maryville College on Sunday, October 25th, at 1:30 p.m. (ET), looking to extend its unbeaten run to 12. It will be the Tigers' first visit to the MC Soccer Complex and only the second meeting between the programs, after a 3-1 home loss in 1994.