SAN ANTONIO- The Trinity Women's Soccer team (4-0-0) looks to continue their winning streak with their first pair of away games in Abilene Texas against Hardin Simmons University on Thursday and McMurry University on Saturday.
Last weekend, the Tigers had an unexpected one-game weekend when Friday's match against Concordia University was cancelled due to weather conditions. With legs fresher than ever, the Tigers brought the heat in a Sunday morning matchup against University of Dallas, cruising to a 7-0 dominant victory.
Trinity's offense wasted no time getting going, piling up three goals inside the first 11 minutes and never letting up, leading to the 7-0 final.
Alex Doran (Boerne, Texas / Geneva School of Boerne) set the tone, assisting on the opener from
Lila Brackin (Dallas, Texas / Lake Highlands) before scoring twice herself in the span of 22 seconds, with Brackin returning the favor on the second.
Lia Bonet (Houston, Texas / Kinkaid) notched her first goal at Trinity off an
Anna Newland (Kirkwood, Mo. / Kirkwood) and
Lilly Fant (Crownsville, Md. / Old Mill) combination, and
Saige Clary (Houston, Texas / Episcopal) followed a minute later with her first collegiate goal off a corner from
Ava Degrand (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands / Cayman International School).
Rowan Hankins (Salt Lake City, Utah / Judge Memorial Catholic) closed out the first half with her own first collegiate goal, again set up by Newland and Fant, before
Emily Camp (Houston, Texas / The Kinkaid School) capped the scoring off a
Camille Young (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands Christian) assist. Trinity finished the day with a commanding 35-2 edge in shots and a 7-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Preview
The Tigers hit the road this week for their first away tests of the season, facing Hardin-Simmons on Thursday before finishing the weekend against McMurry on Saturday, both in Abilene, Texas.
On Hardin-Simmons University: The Cowboys are a very familiar and competitive opponent for Trinity, with the two programs meeting dating back to 1991. The Tigers hold a commanding 22-11-5 edge in the all-time series. The teams met twice last season, with Trinity taking the regular-season meeting 2-1 before the two sides met again in the NCAA Tournament round of 64, where the Tigers came out on top 2-0. In that postseason win, Doran opened the scoring less than five minutes in, and
Hanna Khan (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) added the second in the 69th minute, running onto the ball and finishing first-time into the back of the net as Trinity controlled the match throughout.
Last season, Hardin-Simmons posted an 11-4-2 overall record and went 4-2 in ASC play, claiming the ASC championship to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Trinity 2-0 in the round of 64. The Cowboys will look considerably different this season after losing three of their four All-Region honorees from a year ago, including first-team United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection Kalea Willis, second-team honoree Presleigh Thiessen, and third-team honoree Belle Floyd.
Hardin-Simmons enters this weekend's matchup with a 1-1-1 record, opening the season with a 0-0 tie against No. 25 Christopher Newport before falling to Virginia Wesleyan 2-0 and bouncing back with a 4-1 win over Texas A&M-Victoria, their most recent result.
Players to watch out for: Key contributors for the Cowboys include sophomore midfielder Tatum Barnett, the ASC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year who tied for the conference lead with eight goals in 2025; senior midfielder Aras King, who has started all three games this season and has one goal on the season; and junior forward Taylor Koch, a 2025 First Team All-ASC selection who has also started all three games this year.
On McMurry University: The War Hawks are a fairly familiar opponent for the Tigers, first meeting in 2021, with Trinity holding a perfect 3-0 record in the all-time series. In last year's matchup, the Tigers rolled to a 4-1 win. Khan opened the scoring in the 16th minute for the only goal of the first half. Doran struck less than a minute into the second half to make it 2-0, and forward
Madisyn Barganski (Corpus Christi, Texas / Flour Bluff) extended the lead to 3-0 in the 61st minute. Just two minutes later, Doran notched her second of the night to make it 4-0 before McMurry got on the board in the 73rd minute to set the final score.
Last season, McMurry finished 11-4-5 overall and an undefeated 8-0-3 in SCAC play, capturing the SCAC championship with a 1-0 win over Concordia University to clinch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. The War Hawks' postseason run ended in the round of 64 with a 3-0 loss to California Lutheran University. McMurry is now returning to ASC play and will look to replace key contributors Alexis Lira and Katie Wilson, both All-SCAC selections. Although, the War Hawks remain a relatively young team, returning many key contributors and losing just two of the 12 players selected to All-SCAC teams last season.
McMurry enters this matchup 2-1 on the season, most recently picking up a 6-0 win over Centenary College.
Players to watch out for: The War Hawks return several key pieces from last season, including junior forward Hailey Andrle, a 2025 All-SCAC Honorable Mention who has already scored four goals this season; junior forward Laila Brown, a 2025 First Team All-SCAC selection with two goals and an assist so far; and senior midfielder Madison Black, a 2025 All-SCAC Honorable Mention who has contributed a goal and an assist this year.
Looking Ahead
Trinity Women's Soccer travels to Seguin to face Texas Lutheran University on Friday, September 25th at 7:30 PM before returning home to Paul Mcginlay Field to take on St. Thomas (TX) University on Sunday, September 27th at 3:30 PM.
