GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Trinity University Tigers won their second straight SCAC Men's Soccer Championship after defeating the Southwestern University Pirates in a thrilling 1-0 match. For the Tigers, it is their 16th SCAC Title and second straight Finals win over the Pirates. Interactive Bracket | Official Website | Photo Gallery
Trinity (18-2-1) gained possession at the start of the match and began their attack right away. Only two minutes into the match, Yuri Ribeiro sent a lofting cross into the box from right of goal and found Simon Uribe on the far post who headed it home to give TU a very early 1-0 lead.
Southwestern (14-7-1) seemed to have the response as Timothy Eamma played the ball forward to Michael Oliveras streaking toward goal. Oliveras took a left footed shot that was out of Matt Cardone's reach in goal but careened off the right post.
Trinity looked poised to go up by two goals after they were awarded a penalty kick after Jonny Lawson was tackled in the box. Victor Araujo addressed the ball and sent a hard shot to the lower right corner of Daniel Poole in goal. Poole made an outstanding save, his second PK save in two days, diving to his right and punching the ball out of bounds and harm's way to keep the Pirates within one goal.
Poole was remarkable the entire half, recording one huge save after another, including a one-on-one breakaway by Lawson, to keep Southwestern in the game. The Pirates weren't without their scoring opportunities, but their shots either sailed just off the mark or were blocked by the Tiger defense to keep the Pirates off the board.
Trinity continued to be the aggressor throughout the first half, but the Pirate defense held strong, going into half down 1-0.
The second half got underway just as the first had ended with Trinity looking to tack on yet another goal. However this time, they were left scoreless as Poole agian came up with huge save on a shot by Tom Carwile. A trong counter attack by the Pirates that saw Steven Resnik's shot go just off frame in the 51st minute.
In the 54th minute Trinity narrowly made it a 2-0 advantage once again when Brian Hines took advantage of a miss played ball by the Pirate defense, drawing Poole out of goal. Hines played the ball past Poole but it found the left post and bounced back out into the field of play, allowing the Pirates to regroup.
The game was very physical from the start as both teams brought heavy amounts of intensity to this championship match.
Both teams continued to exchange possessions as the Tigers looked to extend their lead and the Pirates looked to find an equalizer. With under 15 minutes remaining, Trinity faced a disadvantage as they had to play a man down after Hines received his second yellow card.
Moments later, David Arellano nearly made it an even game with a header to the left post, but Cardone made a brilliant diving save keeping the Tiger's lead intact.
Southwestern pressed on, but the Trinity defense was too much in the end as they Tigers secured the SCAC Title.
Araujo earned the SCAC Offensive MVP for the Tournament, earning one goal on a balanced offense that he seemed in total control of. Poole was selected as the SCAC Tournament Defensive MVP, ending the game with seven saves, 13 for the tournament.
Trinity earns the Automatic Qualifier and will await their destination on Monday. Southwestern does have a shot of an At-Large and will also find out their fate on Monday.
