(Story courtesy of Trinity University Athletics Communications)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The 13th-ranked Tiger men's soccer team advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Playoffs with a 3-0 win over Bowdoin College (ME) in Saturday night's NCAA Second Round matchup.
Trinity improved its overall record to 19-0-3 this season, securing the team's sixth consecutive win and the defense's fifth shutout in the last six contests. The stifling Tiger defense yielded just one shot in the game, while the offense fired off 14 total attempts and six of those were on-target shots.
Adam Knutson scored a pair of goals early in the second half to take Bowdoin out of their game and allow the Tigers to play with the comfortable lead. Knutson leads the team with 17 goals this season, which is tied for the 11th-highest total in school history for a single season. His 40 total points scored is tied for the 10th-most by a Tiger player and he is just the ninth player ever to score 40 or more in a season.
Defender Luke Chandler scored his third game-winning goal of the year – among four total scores – late in the first half to break what was a scoreless game for nearly the entire period. Cade Dougan notched his sixth assist on Chandler's goal, while Julian Lopez was credited with the assist on the final goal of the game.
The Rundown
After both teams scored 3-0 victories in Friday night's NCAA First Round action, the expectations of a high-scoring duel between two offenses were sky-high. Instead, Bowdoin was caught offside twice in the first several minutes and were unable to break down Trinity's back line. The Tigers managed a few shots that missed the mark, but the game was much more of a defensive struggle than anticipated.
Dougan came into the game with less than 10 minutes left in the half and made an immediate impact. He was able to use fresh legs to help Trinity further control possession and as the clock ticked under five minutes, he fired a shot from well outside the box that was just tipped over the crossbar to earn a Tiger corner kick. Dougan went over to take the kick and sailed his pass into the box, where it was deflected to the back post. Chandler fought his way clear of the defender and knocked his header into the back of the next from point-blank range. Dougan had one more on-target shot in the final minute, but the half ended with Trinity holding the momentum in addition to the 1-0 lead.
Any question about whether Trinity carried their momentum back onto the field after the break was answered very quickly. Just moments into the second half, Ty Jarrett made a nice run down the left side of the field before cutting inside for his cross back to the far post to a wide-open Will Powell. Powell chested the ball down before he could get a shot off, and by then he was rushed into a shot that slid past the face of the goal and was then deflected by more defenders. Knutson won the race to the loose ball in the 18-yard box with a nice half-slide and turn to face the goal, and then curled his shot past the keeper for a 2-0 Tiger lead.
Just as the excitement of his first goal had nearly worn off, Knutson had done it again and Trinity upped the lead to 3-0 less than 10 minutes into the second period. This time Bowdoin cleared the ball out of their own end, but Chandler stopped the ball with a strong header back towards the box in the middle of the field. The Polar Bears got the ball initially, but a heavy touch left a loose ball for Lopez and a nice back-heel pass to Knutson running towards the goal. Knutson did the rest, unleashing a powerful shot from 30 yards out that zipped past a diving keeper.
That put Trinity in full control of the game, though Bowdoin fought to the bitter end. The Polar Bears were caught offside three times in the ensuing 20 minutes as they tried to push forward for a score. The Tiger defense held and the goalkeeping tandem of Omkar Satpathy and Joshua Lynch combined for the clean sheet to send the Tigers forward in the NCAA Tournament.
Up Next
Official locations for the next round of play will be announced after the completion of the NCAA Second Round tomorrow, with Trinity playing the winner of Babson College (MS) and Wesleyan University (CT). The four-team weekend will be played November 22-24.
