SAN ANTONIO, TX - Trinity University Men's Soccer (4-2-3) put on a statement performance Sunday evening at
Paul McGinlay Field, routing Concordia University (2-4-1) 7-0.
The opening 20 minutes were a cagey affair. Concordia came in carrying the confidence of a side that had fallen just 1-0 to 12th-ranked Southwestern earlier this season, and the Tornados held the ball well early. Trinity, meanwhile, was working through a formation change ahead of kickoff, and it took the Tigers a little while to settle into their new shape. By the time the first half hit its midway point, though, Trinity had found its feet.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute from a neat bit of combination play down the right.
Hodge MacDonald (Hertford, England / Haileybury),
Joey Perryman (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound), and
Leo Jauregui (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) worked the ball into space before Jauregui hit the byline and cut it back across the box. A Concordia defender got a block on it, but the ball fell kindly to MacDonald, who took one touch and calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner from the middle of the box, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
With the lead in hand, Trinity's usual wave of substitutes came on and brought a fresh burst of energy. In the 37th minute, as the Concordia goalkeeper tried to play out through his midfield,
Finnegan Saunders (Albuquerque, New Mexico / Sandia Prep) read the pass perfectly and applied just enough pressure to nick the ball off the midfielder's foot. He drove at the keeper, took it around him, and slotted it into the empty net for his first goal of the season.
That goal was a massive blow for the Tornados, and the floodgates opened. Less than three minutes later,
Gustav Moberg (Borås, Swesen / Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet) curled a deep free kick into a dangerous area. Concordia couldn't clear it, and after the ball ricocheted around the box, it dropped to
Ethan Cowdrey (Crawley, England / Ardingly College), who backheeled it into the path of
Gabriel Romanenko (Los Angeles, California / Geffen Academy). Romanenko curled a first-time effort through a sea of bodies and into the bottom right corner.
Two goals in the space of a few minutes might have tempted the Tigers to ease off before the break, but that was far from the case. With under three minutes left in the half, goalkeeper
Brandon Gongora (San Antonio, Texas / Madison) launched a long goal kick forward, where MacDonald did brilliantly to hold it up and lay it off into the path of Moberg. Moberg sent a perfectly weighted through ball to Perryman, who took one touch and lashed it past the keeper at the near post from the top right of the box.
That capped a brilliant first half in which Trinity took a 4-0 lead and a 15-0 shot advantage into the break.
The second half began much like the first, with Concordia coming out with some energy. That was cut short in the 62nd minute when the freshman
Milo Williams (Austin, Texas / University of Texas HS) pounced on a weak back pass, rounded the goalkeeper, and finished for his second goal of the weekend.
That all but put the result out of reach, and less than two minutes later things got worse for the Tornados.
Alex Baltov (Shreveport, Louisiana / Caddo Parish Magnet) picked up the ball on the left flank, drove into the penalty area, and whipped an inviting ball across the six-yard box. A Concordia defender tried to clear it, but his attempt looped over his own keeper and dropped straight to
Eduardo Parra (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma / Casady School), who simply had to tap it over the line.
Parra wasn't done. In the 68th minute, Saunders caught the Concordia back line napping once again and found himself through on goal. This time the keeper came up with a fantastic save, but unfortunately for him, the rebound fell right to Trinity's leading scorer, and Parra guided it home from just outside the six-yard box for his second of the night and fifth of the season.
Defensively, Trinity was never threatened. Concordia failed to register a single shot across the full 90 minutes, and the Tigers' four goalkeepers, Gongora,
Jack Madsen (Highland Park, Texas / Highland Park),
Luis Yunta (Madrid, Spain / Vermont Academy (Vt.)), and
Austin Quitta (San Antonio, Texas / Brennan), combined for the clean sheet without needing to make a save. At the other end, Concordia goalkeeper Briggs played all 90 minutes and made three saves.
By the final whistle, the numbers told the story of a complete Trinity performance. A 26-0 edge in shots, 10-0 in shots on goal, and 7-0 in corner kicks. The 7-0 win moves the Tigers to 4-2-3 on the season, while Concordia falls to 2-4-1.
Up Next
The Trinity Men's Soccer team will open up conference play a week on Tuesday as they face off against 12th-ranked Southwestern University on October 6th at 7:30 p.m. Before jetting to Danville, Kentucky, where they will match up against Centre College on Sunday, October 11th, at 1:30 p.m. (ET)
