The Trinity women's soccer team (13-1-1) will head to Berry College for the SAA Tournament from Thursday November 5, through Sunday, November 8. After going 5-1-1 in conference play, the Tigers have the No. 2 seed heading into the tournament and automatically get a bye to the semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the tie between the No. 3 seed Sewanee University and the No. 6 seed Maryville College on Friday, November 6th. If the Tigers win, they will face one of the No. 1 seed Centre College, the No. 4 seed Rhodes College or the No. 5 seed Berry College in the final on Sunday, November 8th.
On Saturday, the Tigers capped off their regular season with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Rhodes College at St. Mary's Hall to finish second in the SAA. With the second seed on the line, the Tigers needed all three points in order to be ranked above both Rhodes and Sewanee. The pressure didn't faze Trinity, as they dominated the match from start to finish. The breakthrough came in the 21st minute when
Lila Brackin (Dallas, Texas / Lake Highlands) turned her defender and buried a shot from the top of the box. Trinity outshot Rhodes 17-6 and held a 3-1 edge on corners but was unable to convert a second. It wasn't necessary, as the 1-0 victory allows Trinity to enter the SAA tournament in a favorable position.
SAA Semi-final preview
The Trinity Tigers kick off their tournament weekend on Friday, November 6th, at 3:00 p.m. against the winner of the matchup between Sewanee University and Maryville College.
On the No. 3 seed Sewanee University Tigers: Sewanee is one of Trinity's most familiar opponents, with the series dating back to 1991. Trinity holds a 21-1-2 edge over Sewanee in the overall series with Sewanee's lone win coming in 2005.
Earlier this season the Trinity Tigers continued their SAA campaign on the road at Sewanee, where Trinity claimed the rivalry title with a 2-0 win. Trinity dominated from the beginning, controlling possession and creating many chances but ended the first half scoreless. The breakthrough came quickly in the second half, when
Alex Doran (Boerne, Texas / Geneva School of Boerne) zipped a cross across the face of goal allowing
Talia Camin (Houston, Texas / Memorial) to get on the end of it, finishing it low to the left to put Trinity ahead 1-0 in the 47th minute. Brackin doubled the lead in the 63rd minute after picking the ball off the left center-back and ripping a left-footed shot inside the near post to make it 2-0. Trinity outshot Sewanee 13-3 and put eight shots on goal to Sewanee's one and held a 9-0 edge in corners to start off their conference weekend in Tennessee.
Aside from their losses to Trinity and Centre, the Tigers have held a solid SAA record, ending the regular season 5-2-1. They converted 15 goals and conceded only 4, recording 4 shutouts in conference play. Sewanee is expected to win their quarterfinal matchup, previously beating Maryville 3-1 during the regular season.
Players to watch out for: Key contributors for the Tigers include sophomore forward Pope Scurlock, who leads the team with 10 goals and 1 assist and has been named SAA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season. Senior midfielder Stella Martin, a 2025 All-SAA Honorable Mention, has three goals and a team-high six assists. Junior defender Laney Kalsu has started all 17 matches and has 1 goal and 2 assists.
On the No. 6 seed Maryville College Scots: Prior to this season, the Scots and Tigers hadn't faced each other in 17 years. The Tigers were 3-0 in the overall series, until this year's matchup in which Maryville captured their first-ever victory against Trinity to make the overall series 3-1.
In their final away conference matchup of the season, the Tigers suffered a tough loss to the Scots to finish off their weekend in Tennessee. Maryville struck against the run of play in the 20th minute, when a shot from outside the box looped over the keeper for a 1-0 lead that held up as the game's lone goal. Although the Tigers outshot the Scots 28-6 and put 14 shots on goal to Maryville's three and a 8-1 edge in corners, they were unable to convert, resulting in their first and only loss of the regular season.
The Maryville Scots come in as the underdog of the SAA tournament after going 3-4-1 in regular season. Their victory against Trinity and draw against Berry boosted them over Oglethorpe in the regular season to allow them to capture the sixth and final seed of the tournament. Their other two conference wins came from a 6-0 victory against Millsaps and a 3-0 win against Southwestern.
Players to watch out for: Senior forward Katie Cotten, a 2025 All-CCS Second Team pick, leads the Scots with 10 goals and 2 assists. Sophomore midfielder Regan Boyd, also a 2025 All-CCS Second Team selection, has six goals and 2 assists. Sophomore defender Katie Ray, a 2025 All-CCS Second Team honoree, has started all 12 matches.
Potential SAA tournament final opponents
On the No. 1 seed Centre College Colonels: The Colonels are a familiar foe for the Tigers with their first matchup dating back to 1993. Trinity holds a 21-1-2 all-time record against Centre. The most recent meeting ended in a last minute 2-2 draw.
The top two teams in the SAA battled from start to finish in a rainy regular season matchup in Kentucky. Trinity struck first in the 21st minute from the penalty spot.
Madisyn Barganski (Corpus Christi, Texas / Flour Bluff) drew a free kick, and the set piece was handed inside the box by a Centre defender.
Malea Cesar (Portland, Ore. / Sunset) stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way, rolling her shot right down the middle. The Centre keeper got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The Colonels answered less than four minutes later with a header at the back post in the 25th minute to level the match. The teams went into halftime tied at 1-1. The second half was played end to end, with both sides creating chances. In the 75th minute, Centre broke through on a breakaway and one-touched a chip over the Trinity keeper to take a 2-1 lead. With less than a minute remaining, a Trinity free kick bounced around the box before
Kylie Harris (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) collected it at the top of the area and found Doran with a brilliant pass. Doran curled an effort on goal that forced the Centre keeper into a diving save. The rebound fell to Brackin, who hit it first time into the bottom left-corner to level the match at 2-2.
Centre College held a solid SAA campaign this year ending their regular season 7-0-1 which resulted in their first unbeaten conference season since 2021. They scored 18 goals while only conceding 5 in a campaign that recorded five shutouts in conference play. As of now, they are likely SAA tournament finalists, having defeated potential semi-final opponents Rhodes 3-2 and Berry 2-0.
On the No. 4 seed Rhodes College Lynx: The Lynx are a familiar opponent for the Tigers dating back to 1991. Trinity has won a commanding 24-3 edge on the overall series and have won their last seven matchups against the Lynx with a most recent 1-0 victory to conclude their regular season.
Rhodes has held a 4-3-1 SAA record tallying 24 goals while only conceding 6 in conference play. The Lynx picked up conference wins over Maryville, Oglethorpe, Millsaps and Southwestern, and played Sewanee to a 0-0 draw. All three of their conference losses were by a single goal: 1-0 to Berry, 3-2 to Centre and 1-0 to Trinity. Rhodes opens the tournament in a quarterfinal matchup against Berry. It is a rematch of the Vikings' 1-0 win in Memphis on October 9th, and the winner advances to face Centre in the semi-final.
On the No. 5 seed Berry College Vikings: The Vikings and Tigers have met only four times, with the first matchup coming in 1999. Trinity holds a 2-1-1 edge in the all-time series. The Tigers won 4-0 at Berry in 2014, and the two sides played to a scoreless draw in Mount Berry last season.
Earlier this season the Tigers hosted Berry at Paul McGinlay Field and controlled the match from start to finish in a 1-0 win. The lone goal came in the 19th minute when Doran dribbled across the top of the box and slotted a pass to Barganski, who turned and finished for her fifth goal of the season. Trinity nearly doubled the lead late in the second half when
Hailey Schlosser (San Jose, Calif. / Branham) curled a shot from outside the box over the keeper, but the goal was waved off for offside. Trinity outshot Berry 24-5, put eight shots on goal to Berry's one and held a 3-0 edge in corners.
Berry was picked to finish eighth in the SAA preseason poll but ended the regular season 3-3-2 in conference play to claim the No. 5 seed. They will also host the tournament, giving them a home field advantage. The Vikings opened SAA play with a win over Oglethorpe and later beat Rhodes and Millsaps. However, they went winless in their final four conference matches, losing to Trinity and Sewanee and drawing with Southwestern and Maryville. Berry scored 10 goals and conceded seven in conference play. Five of those seven goals against came in their three losses.
Looking Ahead
Should the Trinity Tigers win the SAA Conference Tournament, they will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and would await the outcome of the NCAA DIII selection show on Monday, November 9th.
