The Trinity University Men's Soccer team (3-2-2) will look to build on last weekend's wins as they remain at home to face off against UC-Santa Cruz (1-3-2) on Friday, before taking on Concordia University (3-3-1) on Sunday.
Last weekend, the Trinity Tigers picked up back-to-back wins for the first time this season, overcoming a stingy defense on the road before turning in an overall solid performance at home. On Friday, Trinity survived a tense finish to escape Belton with a 1-0 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor, then followed it up Sunday with a lopsided 4-0 rout of Hardin-Simmons at
Paul McGinlay Field, improving to 3-2-2 on the season.
Against Mary Hardin-Baylor, the Tigers dominated the run of play but had to wait until the second half to find the breakthrough. A Crusader long-throw goal was overturned in the first half after video review showed a foul on goalkeeper
Jayden Schell (Dallas, Texas / Plano), keeping the match scoreless into the break despite Trinity being outshot 4-3 in the opening period. The Tigers took control after halftime, and in the 76th minute
Joey Perryman (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) squared the ball for
Alex Baltov (Shreveport, La. / Caddo Parish Magnet), who rifled home his first goal of the season for the eventual game-winner. Mary Hardin-Baylor pushed for an equalizer late, including a penalty appeal in the 86th minute that was waved off after a VAR review, but Schell turned away seven shots on goal to preserve the clean sheet in a match Trinity was outshot in overall, 10-9.
Two days later against Hardin-Simmons, Trinity never left first gear.
Eduardo Parra (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma / Casady School) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute off a
Landon Ortega (San Antonio, Texas / Central Catholic) header down from an
Alex Baltov corner kick, then doubled his tally five minutes later off another Ortega service to make it 2-0 at the break, with the Tigers holding an 11-1 shot advantage in the opening 45. Freshman
Dev Ghedia (London, England / St. James) scored on his Trinity debut in the 63rd minute, and
Oliver Burdick (Houston, Texas / Stratford) capped the scoring in the 83rd with the first goal of his career, finishing off a give-and-go with right back
Matt Lim (Davao City, Philippines / Montverde Academy). Trinity finished with a commanding 29-1 shot edge and 13-0 advantage in corner kicks, while the trio of
Luis Yunta (Madrid, Spain / Vermont Academy),
Jack Madsen (Highland Park, Texas / Highland Park) and
Austin Quitta (San Antonio, Texas / Brennan) combined for the shutout.
Preview
The Trinity Tigers will kick off their weekend on Friday, September 25th, at 7:00 p.m. as they host the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, before matching up against local opposition, the Concordia University Tornados, on Sunday, September 27th, at 6:00 p.m.
On the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs: The Banana Slugs are a relatively unfamiliar opponent for Trinity, as the two programs have met just nine times in their history. The series has been predominantly one-sided, with Trinity claiming eight victories. The inaugural matchup occurred during Trinity's historic 2003 national championship season, resulting in a 3-0 Tiger victory, while their most recent meeting came midway through last season, a 2-1 win at home. The Tigers enter Friday's contest on a seven-match unbeaten streak against UC-Santa Cruz, with their lone defeat coming in 2006.
The 2025 meeting between the Tigers and Banana Slugs ended in a 2-1 Trinity comeback win, in a game where the No. 5 nationally ranked Tigers found themselves behind early before storming back at
Paul McGinlay Field. UC-Santa Cruz struck first in just the 4th minute, catching Trinity flat-footed with a forward played in behind who calmly slotted it home. Trinity settled in and began piling on pressure, and right before the break, Baltov stepped up to a free kick on the edge of the box and curled it over the wall and into the top corner, leveling the match 1-1 heading into halftime. The second half belonged entirely to the Tigers, who outshot the Banana Slugs 12-0 after the restart. The winner came in the 76th minute, when the graduated
Adam Knutson (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) pounced on a loose ball in the box after a
Daniel Urquidi (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) header deflected into his path, smashing it home for the eventual game-winner. From there,
Brandon Gongora (San Antonio, Texas / Madison) and Yunta shut the door in goal, holding UC-Santa Cruz shotless the rest of the way to seal a 2-1 victory that pushed Trinity to 7-1-0 on the season.
Last season, UC-Santa Cruz posted a solid 10-7-1 record and mounted a deep run in the Coast-to-Coast Conference Tournament before falling 2-0 in the semifinals to Christopher Newport University, a side Trinity also stumbled against in a 3-2 defeat earlier that year. Though the Banana Slugs have since parted ways with a few key contributors, including both of their 2025 Third-Team All-Region selections, the squad remains formidable after retaining both of their Second-Team All-Region honorees alongside a strong core of returning talent.
This fall has been a surprisingly sluggish campaign for UC-Santa Cruz, with the team claiming just one victory from six matches to sit at 1-3-2 overall. They enter Friday's clash following a draw and back-to-back defeats. Two weekends ago, a road trip to Washington yielded a 0-0 shutout against Whitman College before a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Whitworth University. Just this past weekend, they suffered another narrow 2-1 setback against NCAA Division II opponent Jessup University. Despite their record, the Slugs have navigated a demanding slate, which included a battle against Claremont, a mutual opponent that also handed Trinity a defeat earlier this season.
Players to watch: Key contributors for the Banana Slugs include senior midfielder and 2025 USC Second Team All-Region Honoree Soren Groessl whos contributed with a goal and an assist this season, senior defender and 2025 USC Second Team All-Region honoree Michael Braun whos notched a goal from defense, and junior midfielder Oliver Gill whos added a goal and two assists.
On the Concordia University Tornados: The Concordia University Tornados are an unfamiliar opponent for Trinity, as the two programs have met only four times in their history. The series has been entirely one-sided, with the Tigers remaining undefeated against the Tornados. Their inaugural matchup in 2021 resulted in a 3-1 victory for Trinity, while the Tigers claimed another 3-1 home win in their most recent meeting last season.
The 2025 meeting between the Tigers and Tornados ended in a comfortable 3-0 Trinity win, in a game where graduated captain Knutson put in a brace-and-assist performance to lead the Tigers to their fourth shutout in five matches and a perfect 5-0-0 start to the 2025 season. After a frantic start, Trinity settled into possession and broke through just before the half-hour mark, when Knutson converted a penalty following a Concordia handball in the box, sending the keeper the wrong way. Five minutes later,
Hodge MacDonald (Hertford, England / Haileybury) found
Kassen Dilworth (Schertz, Texas / Clemens) down the right flank, and his low cross across the six-yard box found Knutson unmarked for his second of the night, making it 2-0 at the break with Trinity holding a 12-5 shot edge. The Tigers kept their foot down after halftime, and just nine minutes into the second period, Knutson turned provider, splitting the Concordia defense to send Baltov in behind. Baltov beat the keeper to the ball and squared it across for the graduated
Samuel Theiss (Boerne, Texas / Boerne), who tapped home his fifth goal of the season to make it 3-0. From there, Trinity coasted, finishing with a 24-8 shot advantage while goalkeepers Schell and Gongora combined for the clean sheet.
Last season, Concordia posted a solid 9-4-5 record before falling 1-0 to LeTourneau University in the SCAC Tournament quarterfinals. The Tornados return the majority of their core roster this fall, including five of their eight 2025 All-SCAC honorees, led by a First-Team and a Second-Team selection.
Concordia enters Sunday's matchup at 3-3-1 overall following a 1-1 draw with Schreiner University and a narrow 1-0 loss to 12th-ranked Southwestern University. Their non-conference campaign also featured a 4-0 defeat to Mary Hardin-Baylor and a 1-0 victory over Hardin-Simmons, two opponents Trinity defeated 1-0 and 4-0, respectively. Still seeking their first-ever win against the Tigers, the Tornados will look to capitalize on Trinity's mixed start to the season and pull off an upset.
Players to watch: Key contributors for the Tornados include sophomore midfielder and 2025 All-SCAC Honorable Mention Edmond Elone, who has notched two goals and an assist; senior midfielder and 2025 First Team All-SCAC honoree Jesse Garfias, who has contributed a goal; and senior defender and 2025 Second Team All-SCAC honoree Luis Pineda, who has started all seven games and recorded an assist.
Looking Ahead
Trinity Men's Soccer will hit the road again on Tuesday, October 6th, as they open up SAA play against 12th-ranked Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas at 7:30 p.m. Before jetting off to Danville, Kentucky on Sunday, October 11th to face off against Centre College at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
