Paul McGinlay will enter his 35th year as the head coach of the Trinity Tigers men’s soccer team during the 2025 season.
In 2024, the Tigers enjoyed an outstanding season. Trinity put together a 19-1-3 record and were 10-0-1 in SCAC play. Coach McGinaly’s squad also captured their 23rd SCAC Championship, defeating St. Thomas 4-2. The Tigers won 3-0 in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Playoffs but fell in the third round to Babson. The Tigers had 11 All-SCAC performers and junior Adam Knutson was named SCAC Offensive Player of the Year. Trinity also had four United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region players and JonConnor Rule was named USC 2nd Team All-American. United Soccer Coaches also honored Coach McGinlay and staff with Region X Coaching Staff of the Year.
Coach McGinlay is one of the most successful men’s soccer coaches in the NCAA. Since his appointment in 1991 to the Trinity staff, Coach McGinlay has amassed a record of 571-96-47 (.833). Coach McGinlay is also the fastest in NCAA history to reach 500 victories, achieving the feat in his 29th season with the program, and in his 614th career matchup. Under Coach McGinlay, the Tigers have won 23 SCAC Championships, have had 25 NCAA Playoff Appearances, and 10 NCAA Quarterfinal Appearances. There have also been 288 All-Conference players, 27 SCAC Players of the Year, 78 All-Americans, and has been named SCAC Coach of the Year 14 times.
He guided the Tigers to the 2003 NCAA Division III National Championship, as Trinity finished the season with a perfect 24-0-0 record. It marked the first NCAA Soccer Championship - for any division - in the state of Texas. The championship team was inducted into the Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Coach McGinlay’s 2007 squad was the national runner-up.
Josh Card ‘05 became the fourth Tiger individual men’s soccer player to be inducted into the Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame, at the ceremony held October 5, 2019. Josh Smith ‘04 was selected as the NSCAA Division III National Player of the Year in 2003 and went on to a professional career. Former Tiger women’s soccer coach and All-American Lance Key ‘00 played for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, while All-America goalkeeper Matt Cardone ‘15 is a member of the United Soccer League franchise team San Antonio FC. Key was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2015, along with All-America teammate Scott Mury ‘00. Smith was an inductee of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Trinity’s soccer field was renovated and renamed the Paul McGinlay Soccer Field with the dedication in September 2011. The playing surface was enhanced with new turf, and the spectator area was expanded to accommodate 1,500 fans. The Isom Memorial was named after the late Tiger men’s standout, Timothy “Tito” Isom ‘98. The 14-foot red-brick facility is used for game administration, announcing, scorekeeping, video recording, and live streaming by the Tiger Network.
Prior to joining the Trinity staff, Coach McGinlay was an assistant men’s soccer coach at the College of Wooster (OH). He holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” License, and an Advanced Diploma from United Soccer Coaches.
A native of Corby, England, Coach McGinlay earned a degree from the University of London in 1984 in English literature. He is married to the former Whitney Newman, a 1992 Trinity graduate. The couple has a daughter, Claire, and a son, Dylan.
