SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Seconded-seeded Texas Lutheran scored a pair of second half goals en route to advancing to the program’s first ever SCAC Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship after defeating third-seeded and host Trinity in Saturday’s second semifinal match. Official Championships Website | Postgame Interview | Tournament Stats | Semifinal Photo Album
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Playing in its second game in as many days, Trinity appeared to have the better of the first half, outshooting Texas Lutheran, 7-3, but couldn’t put any shots on target as the opening 45 minutes ended scoreless.
- In an intense back and forth affair in the second half, Texas Lutheran opened the scoring in the 81st minutes when sophomore Nicolas Medina scored his fourth of the season, assisted by freshman Ralph Miller.
- Trailing by a goal with less than 10 minutes remaining, Trinity pressed which led to a late break away from SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year Luis Green who calmly buried the insurance goal in the 90th minute. It was the 19th goal of the season for the sophomore and the third in his SCAC Tournament career.
- Freshman Caleb Weed finished with three saves to collect his fourth shutout of the season.
- Trinity finished the game outshooting TLU, 15-11, however the Bulldogs held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Tigers attempted nine corners on the afternoon, while the Bulldogs attempted just one.
TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Luis Green: 1 goal, 7 shots, 5 shots on goal
- Nicolas Media: 1 goal, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal
- Ralph Miller: 1 assist, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal
- Caleb Weed: 3 saves, 0 goals allowed
TRINITY UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Andrea Codispoti: 4 shots, 1 shot on goal
- Philip Duenez: 2 shots, 1 shot on goal
- Blake Lieberman: 5 saves, 2 goals allowed
NOTABLES
- Texas Lutheran will advance to its first SCAC Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship in program history.
- The win marked the first for TLU over Trinity in the SCAC Tournament, previously being 0-4 against the Tigers, with all four losses coming in the semifinals.
- The loss snaps Trinity’s 15 game SCAC Tournament unbeaten streak.
- Trinity falls to 11-6-2 overall.
UP NEXT
By defeating Trinity, Texas Lutheran (14-5) will face top-seeded Colorado College in tomorrow’s SCAC Championship at 1 p.m. CT. The meeting will be just the second between the two programs in the SCAC Tournament with Colorado College winning the previous matchup, 1-0, in the 2016 semifinals. The winning of tomorrow’s matchup will receive the conference’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Tournament.
