(Story Courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Trinity University men's soccer team was eliminated in the Second Round of the NCAA Playoffs in a 4-1 loss at the hands of Occidental College (CA) on Sunday night.
The Tigers fell to 12-3-4 this season with the loss, while Occidental improved to 15-3-3 on the year and continues on to the Third Round in the first NCAA Playoff run in school history. This was just the second meeting between the two West Region schools, with the first being a 5-2 Trinity win in 2021.
Trinity goalkeeper Austin Wilman recorded a pair of saves early as Occidental had the first two shots of the game by the 15th minute. Occidental had a breakaway chance in the 16th minute of play and Wilman came out just beyond the box to challenge for the ball. Instead, he committed a foul and was booked with a red card for "denying a goal scoring opportunity." That left Trinity to play a man down the rest of the way.
Occidental immediately tested Trinity with five more shots in the next five minutes, including a rocket off the cross bar on the restart of play. Trinity didn't get a shot off at all until the 21st minute and playing a man short limited the opportunities for the Tigers even more. Occidental broke through with a goal in the 32nd minute of action and followed with a second just shy of three minutes later to take a 2-0 lead by halftime.
The second half began quickly and it wasn't good news for Trinity as Occidental netted another score less than three minutes into the period to take a 3-0 advantage. Trinity was able to break the shutout as Jack Eubank scored on a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box.
Though the Trinity goal gave the home team hope for a comeback, Occidental wouldn't make things easy on the weekend hosts, adding another score in the 65th minute to effectively seal the win. Trinity managed just five total shots in the second half – and the goal by Eubank was the only on-target attempt of the period.
Trinity made a return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus, winning a penalty kick shootout 9-8 against the University of Texas-Dallas in yesterday's first round matchup. The two teams tied 2-2 in regulation and after two overtimes, forcing the shootout to determine which team would move forward. After the two teams made 16 straight penalty kicks, UT-Dallas missed its ninth attempt, and Trinity scored to advance to tonight's game. Occidental defeated the University of St. Thomas 2-1 last night, scoring the game-winner in the 89th minute of play.
