On Nov. 15 and 16, Trinity University hosted eight teams for the NCAA soccer playoffs’ regionals, where the men advanced to the third round while the women fell short in overtime. Both teams handled Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) in their first-round games, but the Trinity women fell in overtime to California Lutheran University in the second round. The men’s team won their second round game over Texas Lutheran University (TLU).

MEN’S TEAM

On Nov. 7, a week before the NCAA playoffs kicked off, Trinity men’s soccer was eliminated by Berry College in the semifinals of the SAA Tournament. The penalty shootout loss stands out on the Tigers’ schedule, as they lost one game in regulation all year, were a perfect 7-0 in SAA play and had already beaten Berry 4-1 earlier this season. Facing an HSU team sitting at 6-9-3, which the Tigers had beaten 2-0 earlier in the year, complacency was again a real possibility. How would the team respond to the uncharacteristic loss one week earlier?

“They’re going to be great,” McGinlay said. “It’s going to be back to the team that you have seen. They’re not going to let that happen again.”

The Tigers answered McGinlay’s call by defeating HSU 5-0. The first came as junior defender Luke Mayfield lofted a short-range cross to senior defender Luke Chandler. While Chandler’s header was saved, the rebound fell to first-year midfielder Hodge MacDonald, who scored his first collegiate goal. The next two came from penalties, won by junior midfielder Joey Perryman and first-year midfielder Max Salinas, and scored by senior midfielder Alex Ramirez and Junior midfielder Samuel Theiss. Mayfield scored the fourth, and Perryman the fifth. 

“We’re just doing our job at the end of the day,” Theiss said. “We have an end goal. It’s far from over for us.” 

In the second round, Trinity faced the champions of their former conference, TLU. This was one of my favorite seasons in my life. I think anyone on the team, even Coach Dylan would say the same.[/pullquote]TLU played a high-pressure style in their match the night before and came out the same against the Tigers. Trinity kept pace with the Bulldogs, though, and, aside from a few counterattacks, had all the possession.

In the 25th minute, sophomore midfielder Julian Lopez found himself in the box staring down the TLU goalkeeper Ernesto Avila. As Avila slid in, Lopez took a touch to the side, absorbing the contact to earn Trinity a penalty. Mayfield stepped up to take it, and a slight stutter in his run-up sent Avila diving before the shot came. From there, Mayfield slotted home the penalty.

“That was the first [penalty] I’ve ever scored,” Mayfield said. “It was so important for the team to get that. McGinlay always says, ‘one in the first half, and one in the second,’ and that’s what we did.”

Trinity scored thier second-half goal during a short stretch where TLU had pinned Trinity’s in their own half. It came from one of Trinity captains, Theiss, who darted down the sideline and up the endline before shooting from one of the tightest angles possible in the sport. After the goal, Trinity took the sting out of TLU’s press by passing the ball with speed and patience, earning the 2-0 win and a spot in the sweet 16.

“A week ago, it was subpar,” McGinlay said. “To respond with seven unanswered goals, that’s not bad. There wasn’t one ball that wasn’t contested by us the whole night. To get into that last 16, only 15 other schools, it’s a sweet feeling.”

After the loss to Berry College, McGinlay said he believed the loss was a result of the team’s complacency and entitlement. While he shared his frustration and disappointment over the result, he said that the lesson could not have come at a better time. The loss did not end their season prematurely, and it gave the Tigers a game off, allowing players time to recover from a long and grueling season, which featured several injuries. Most importantly to McGinlay, though, the loss held no bearing on the team’s clear ambition.

“Last year, Amherst College lost in the conference quarter finals on penalties and didn’t play the semis or the final,” McGinlay said. “They won their next four games, got to the Final Four, and won the national championship. That’s what we’re going to do. That pathway is available to us.”

Having been ranked No. 5 in the last United Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the Tigers are considered to be among the top programs in real contention for a national championship this season. Before the Tigers can lift a trophy in Salem, they have to pass through the final four, the elite eight and the sweet 16, where the Tigers were eliminated last year.

The Tigers have not made it past the sweet 16 since 2015, meaning a failure to reach the quarterfinals this year would mark 10 seasons without an NCAA quarterfinals appearance. This would mark an unprecedented period in the tenure of McGinlay, as the only 10-year stretch where his program was never once amongst the last eight.

Last year, the Tigers entered the sweet 16 as undefeated SCAC Champions, ranked No. 13 in the country. However, they came up short against No. 11 Babson, as they gave up two second-half goals that sent them back to San Antonio empty-handed. Now Trinity is back and looking to right the wrongs of last year’s disappointing loss.

“It’s been a year of hard work just to get back to this point,” Thiess said. “This is what we wanted, the sweet 16. I’m just incredibly proud of the team and the hard work that was put in tonight.”

In the third round, Trinity will face Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) at their home field.

WOMEN’S TEAM

The women’s team was unable to advance past the second round, as they fell to California Lutheran University in overtime.

The Tigers entered their Nov. 15 first-round match with HSU coming off an undefeated championship-winning SAA season. HSU lost to Trinity earlier in the season at Paul McGinlay Field in a match that ended 2-1.

Trinity made it three straight games with a goal in 15 minutes, when first-year forward Lila Brackin’s cross found the foot of sophomore forward Alex Doran. The SAA Offensive Player of the season hit the cross first time to put Trinity up within five minutes. The Tigers maintained possession for the remainder of the half, outshooting the Cowgirls 11-3.

HSU’s second-half push fell short as three saves from senior goalkeeper Lauren Little and committed defending from sophomore defender Kylie Harris and senior defender Ilsa Newland kept HSU off the board. Meanwhile, Trinity scored a second when senior midfielder Clara Richards played a through ball to sophomore forward Anna Newland. The pass’ speed gave Newland time to delay her cross and find late-arriving senior forward Hanna Khan, who finished the move.

“I was really proud of how we scored team goals,” junior midfielder and co-captain Malea Cesar said. “We’re talented individually, but to put it all together as a unit was special.”

The 2-0 result sent Trinity to a second-round matchup with California Lutheran. The game started off resembling a basketball game, as the ball traveled end to end. When Trinity took control first, they scored the opener. Doran found Khan just inside the box. Khan’s first touch took her inside and drew a challenge, which she glided past with her second touch. Her third touch blasted the ball off the crossbar and over the goal line to give the Tigers the lead. The goal was Khan’s fifth in Trinity’s four postseason games.

Trinity continued to control possession and pinned California Lutheran in their own half for long stretches. But, just before halftime, a Trinity error gave the Regals the tying goal. The momentum of the equalizer carried into and out of halftime as the Regals controlled the speed of play for the first time all game. The Regals failed to capitalize, though, and Trinity created more in the final minutes of regulation.

In the dying seconds, Trinity earned a free kick, and Cesar’s placement dropped the ball on the six-yard box, where Brackin headed it on target. After a save, the ball landed inside the box. In the crowd of players, multiple Tiger shots were taken and blocked by Regals and Tigers alike. The chance ended when senior midfielder Bri Werner rattled the ball off the crossbar, and the Regals cleared the rebound away from Brackin, who was crashing in to head home the rebound. With the clearance, the clock ticked down to zero as overtime became necessary.

“I was so pumped up,” Cesar said. “We felt like we dominated the first half and while they came out stronger in the second half, by the end of the 90, we had started to wear them down.”

Both teams knew that a goal at any point in the two 10-minute overtime periods would end the game. Less than two minutes  in, the Regals earned a corner kick, which Keira Hazard curled over Trinity’s heads and straight into the net. A rare Olympico sent the Regals through to the third round and ended the Tigers’ season.

“This was one of my favorite seasons in my life,” Cesar said. “I think anyone on the team, even Coach Dylan, would say the same. That makes this a hard senior class to let go of. Hanna Khan’s been a true captain in every sense. Ilsa Newland has been our rock. Clara Richards has been a role model to me. Nina Pollak is the sweetest. Bri Werner brought that something special in midfield. Lauren Little always has a smile on her face. And Bella Rueda drives the team.”

The men’s game against WashU is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 22. If they win that game, they will advance to a quarterfinal game on Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Fans of the women’s team will have to wait until 2026 to see the reigning SAA Champions take the field again.

*This story has been updated from a previous version with more detailed coverage.