SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University men's soccer team closed out its regular-season schedule in impressive fashion with a 3-0 Southern Athletic Association win over Millsaps College (MS) at
Paul McGinlay Field, extending the Tigers' unbeaten streak and remaining undefeated in conference play..
After a scoreless opening half, Trinity (10-2-5, 6-0-2) found its breakthrough shortly after the interval and added two more goals to secure its second consecutive shutout. The Tigers controlled much of the action throughout the afternoon, finishing with an 18-6 advantage in total shots. Trinity also limited the Majors (8-7-3, 2-5-1) to just two shots on target, withgoalkeeper
Jayden Schell (Dallas, Texas / Plano) recording two saves to earn the clean sheet.
The breakthrough arrived in the 49th minute. Just 3:39 into the second half,
Luke Mayfield (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) found the back of the net to give Trinity a 1-0 advantage. The senior defender continued his attacking contributions, finishing with a team-high four shots.
Trinity continued to apply pressure as the half progressed, and the lead doubled in the 71st minute.
Milo Williams (Austin, Texas / University of Texas) scored his third goal of the season at 70:46, finishing off a play set up by
Julian Lopez (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal) to give the Tigers some breathing room at 2-0.
The Tigers weren't finished, adding one more goal in the closing moments to put the result beyond doubt.
Finnegan Saunders (Albuquerque, N.M. / Sandia Prep) found the net at 89:06, scoring his second goal of the season after receiving assists from
Luke van Leer (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township) and
Mateo Machado (Mexico City, Mexico / Reagan) to complete the 3-0 victory.
The three-goal performance was another example of Trinity's balanced attacking production, with three different Tigers finding the net and three different players recording assists.
Defensively, the Tigers were equally impressive, keeping Millsaps off the scoreboard for the full 90 minutes. Schell played the entire match and made two saves, while Trinity's back line helped restrict the Majors to just six total shots.
The victory secures the #2 seed for Trinity in next weekend's SAA Championship Tournament. The Tigers receive a first-round bye as the second seed and will open play on Friday, November 6, at 3:00 p.m. against the winner of #3 Berry College (GA) and #6 Oglethorpe University (GA).
