No. 2 Tiger Men's Soccer returns to
Paul McGinlay Field to open the 2026 season.
Last Season
The Trinity Tigers men's soccer team orchestrated a historic 2025 season, finishing 20-2-1 overall and capturing the SAA regular season championship with a perfect 7-0 conference mark in their first year in the league. Combining an attack that scored 61 goals with a defense that allowed just 14, the Tigers didn't concede a single goal throughout the entire NCAA Tournament until the national championship game, advancing to the NCAA Final by beating Emory University in the semifinals. Trinity ultimately fell 2-1 in overtime to top-ranked Tufts University, finishing as national runner-up in the program's third trip to the title game and first since 2007.
The season was headlined by senior forward
Adam Knutson (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs), who was named the 2025 United Soccer Coaches Division III Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in program history to earn the national honor. Knutson tallied eight goals and five assists, six of them game-winners, and added First Team All-American, First Team All-Region, and SAA Offensive Athlete of the Year honors. Junior forward
Samuel Theiss (Boerne, Texas / Boerne) joined him as a First Team All-American after leading the team with 15 goals on an elite 50.8% shot-on-goal rate, while also earning First Team Scholar All-American and First Team All-SAA recognition.At the back, senior center back
Luke Chandler (Glasgow, Scotland / Balfron) helped anchor a defense that posted 12 shutouts, earning First Team All-SAA, First Team All-Region, and Second Team Scholar All-American honors. Together, these achievements capped one of the most successful seasons in program history.
This Season
The Tigers open their 2026 campaign at
Paul McGinlay Field against local rivals and former SCAC foe Texas Lutheran University on Tuesday, September 1st, before heading west to face off against Californian opposition Claremont on Friday, September 4th, and Redlands on Sunday, September 6th. The action returns home on September 11th for a match against the University of La Verne, followed by Texas A&M-San Antonio on September 13th. Their conference schedule begins on October 6th against Southwestern University and will close out against Millsaps College on November 1st.
Trinity will return some key pieces from last season's campaign. Defensively,
Daniel Urquidi (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) and
Jayden Schell (Dallas, Texas / Plano) will head up the backline. Urquidi, a 2025 United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Region selection, started all 23 games and logged the most minutes of any player last term, while Schell started 18 games in goal, including all games in their postseason run to the final, and was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team. In midfield, notable returners include 2025 SAA Rookie of the Year
Max Salinas (Austin, Texas / Austin), 2025 First Team All-SAA nominee
Cade Dougan (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal), and 2025 Final Four All-Tournament team nominee
Julian Lopez (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal)
. While in the forward areas, 2025 Second Team All-SAA nominee
Joey Perryman (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) will be looking to improve on his 9 goal involvements from last term.
United Soccer Coaches & SAA Poll
Off the back of reaching the National Championship Final, United Soccer Coaches have given the Tigers a No. 2 national ranking coming into this campaign. While the current national champions Tufts University occupy the top spot. In the conference poll, the Tigers have been selected as the frontrunners in this upcoming season, placing 1st ahead of local rivals Southwestern University in 2nd and last year's SAA Tournament champions Berry College in 3rd.
Previewing The Opening Week
Trinity will open their 2026 schedule on Tuesday, September 1st at
Paul McGinlay Field against Texas Lutheran University at 7:00 PM. They will then travel to California to face off against Claremont on Friday, September 4th at 7:00 p.m. (PT), before rounding out the trip against Redlands on Sunday, September 6th at 11:00 a.m. (PT).
On the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs: The Bulldogs have long been a familiar opponent for Trinity, with the programs meeting 45 times in their history. Historically, Trinity has dominated the series, winning 38 of the matchups. The first meeting came in 1991, ending in a 1-0 win for the Bulldogs, while the most recent clash came in last season's Second Round of the NCAA National Tournament, where they fell to the Tigers 2-0.
The 2025 NCAA National Tournament Second Round matchup between the Tigers and the Bulldogs was a feisty affair with Trinity coming out on top in comfortable fashion. Lopez drew a penalty in the 25th minute, with
Luke Mayfield (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) burying it into the bottom corner to give Trinity the lead. While the graduated Theiss added a second in the 66th minute, sneaking a shot inside the near post. The defense didn't allow a single shot on target, with goalkeeper Schell keeping a clean sheet. Trinity advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year and went on to face Washington University-St. Louis in St. Louis.
Last season, the Bulldogs finished with an impressive 13-5-3 record, going 8-1-2 in SCAC play. They were particularly strong at home (7-1-1), won the SCAC Tournament, and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA National Tournament for the first time in their history. Since then, the Bulldogs have retained much of their young squad with all three of their five 2025 United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region selections remaining.
Players to watch out for: Key contributors for the Bulldogs include sophomore goalkeeper Ernesto Avila, a 2025 USC Third Team All-Region selection, who made 21 starts and collected a program record ten shutouts along the way. Sophomore defender Alex Hart, a 2025 USC First Team All-Region selection, who started 20 games as a freshman and led all field players in minutes played. Then finally, sophomore midfielder Jesus Carrillo, a 2025 USC Second Team All-Region selection, who tallied a team-high 8 goals.
On the Claremont College Stags: The Stags are a historically familiar foe for Trinity, with the two programs having met 10 times in their history. The Tigers hold a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series and are currently riding a 2-match winning streak. The first meeting came in 1994, ending in a 4-2 win for the Stags, while the most recent clash came in last season's opening game as the Tigers rode out 2-1 victors at
Paul McGinlay Field.
The 2025 opening day showdown between the Tigers and Stags ended in a gritty 2-1 Trinity victory. After a scoreless first half which saw the Tigers outshoot the Stags 21-5, Theiss broke through just after halftime, glancing home a cross from
Alex Baltov (Shreveport, La. / Caddo Parish Magnet) in the 47th minute. Knutson doubled the lead in the 79th minute off a Perryman assist, but CMS answered right back a minute later to cut it to 2-1. Trinity's defense held firm the rest of the way to seal the season-opening win.
Last season was an up-and-down campaign for the Claremont Stags as they finished with a 4-10-6 record, going 3-5-4 in SCIAC play and failing to make their conference tournament for the first time since 2017. Since then, the Stags have retained two of their three 2025 All-SCIAC honorees and come into this weekend's matchup with a much-improved squad and the home field advantage. They will be looking to bounce back to the heights of the 2024 campaign where they went 16-4-3, claiming the SCIAC title and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Players to watch out for: Key contributors for the Stags include junior defender Zeno Bang, a 2025 Second Team All-SCIAC honoree, who caught form towards the back end of the 2025 season after struggling with injuries. Sophomore defender Atticus English, a 2025 Second Team All-SCIAC honoree, who started in 16 of 17 games he played in and contributed with a goal and two assists from fullback. Then finally, in the forward areas, junior forward Collin Ross is the notable returner after starting 15 of 17 games he featured in, and contributed with four goals and four assists.
On the University of Redlands Bulldogs: The Bulldogs are a less familiar opponent for Trinity, with the two programs meeting only five times in their history. The Tigers hold an unbeaten 4-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. Their first meeting came in 2002, and ended with a 2-0 victory for the Tigers, while their most recent matchup came in 2017 and resulted in a 4-2 victory for the Tigers.
Last season, Redlands finished with a solid 9-7-4 record, going 6-3-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs surged into the SCIAC Tournament final, narrowly falling 1-0 to the top-seeded Occidental College, who went on to lose 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament First Round to the at the time No. 2 ranked Augsburg University. Since then, the Bulldogs have retained two of their four USC All-Region selections and three of their four All-SCIAC honorees, and remain in a great position to challenge Occidental for the SCIAC crown this season.
Players to watch out for: Key contributors for the Bulldogs include senior defender Benjamin Evans, a 2025 USC All-Region Second Team selection, who started all 19 games he featured in, came up with four goal involvements, and brought a dangerous long throw to the team's arsenal. Senior forward Anders Beckton, a 2025 USC All-Region First Team selection, who started all 20 games and provided a team-high ten goals and seven assists. Then finally, senior midfielder Zachary Darmanyan, a 2025 Second Team All-SCIAC honoree, who started all 16 games he featured in and came up with eight goals and seven assists.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will return home to
Paul McGinlay Field on Friday, September 11th at 7:00 p.m. to face off against the University of La Verne. They then follow that up on Sunday, September 13th, at 6:00 p.m. as they face off against NAIA competition in the form of Texas A&M-San Antonio.
