LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Conference play started this past weekend as all six Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer teams were in action. Top-ranked Trinity and Austin College went a combined 3-0 in conference play and are the lone unbeaten teams in SCAC play.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College extended its unbeaten streak to
seven games over the weekend and got the SCAC season off to a
strong start in the process, topping Centenary 3-1 in the first
conference game of the year and adding a 4-2 win over
Concordia-Texas on Sunday. The ‘Roos are now 5-1-2 overall on
the year and 1-0 in conference play. Against Centenary, Harroon
Ismail, Caleb Sherer and Memo Allande all had goals and Andrew
Celio had five saves in the net, and Caleb Walters added an assist
on Ismail’s goal. Against Concordia, Daniel Graham got the
scoring going off an assist from Sherer and Walters tallied twice,
with Sherer adding the final goal of the match. Celio was again
strong in the net, recording five saves. This week the ‘Roos
travel to take on Rogers State before hosting Southwestern and
Trinity.
Centenary (2-5, 0-1 SCAC) finished the week 0-2. Centenary
dropped a 3-1 decision at Austin College before falling 3-1 at home
to Hendrix over the weekend. The Gents return to action on Sept. 28
and 30 when they host #1 Trinity and Southwestern,
respectively.
Colorado College posted its third consecutive shutout and
fifth of the season with the 4-0 victory at Southwestern in the
SCAC opener on Friday night. Senior goalkeeper Brian Graf had to
make only three saves thanks to the Tigers' defense that allowed
just seven total shots. It marked the fifth time this season CC has
held an opponent to fewer than 10 total shots in a game. Junior
midfielder Sean Parham scored the only goal his team would need in
the 22nd minute. He unleashed a shot from 22 yards out that took
the goalkeeper's hands back over his head for his first game winner
of the season and the second of his career. Matt Fechter extended
his goal scoring streak to three games when he found the net in the
27th minute. Junior midfielder Andrew Salazar made it 3-0 when he
scored with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first
half, and senior forward Daniel Wright added a final tally with 26
seconds remaining in the game. Graf recorded a season-high six
saves, but Colorado College dropped a 1-0 decision at No. 1 Trinity
University on Sunday afternoon. CC held Trinity to one goal for
only the second time this season. Colorado College nearly scored
the equalizer in the 84 minute, but the Trinity goalkeeper made a
diving save on a senior forward Daniel Wright's shot, getting just
enough of the ball to send it inches outside the post. TU outshot
CC by a 21-8 count, but the differential in shots on goal was only
7-3. Both of Colorado College’s losses to Division III
opponents this season were by 1-0 scores. The Tigers return home
next weekend to play host to the University of Dallas on Friday
afternoon and Elmhurst College in a non-conference game on
Sunday.
Dallas (3-3, 0-2 SCAC) ran into tough competition this
week, dropping a pair of SCAC road games to begin conference play.
Friday brought the Crusaders to San Antonio where they were forced
to combat No. 1 Trinity University. This proved not an easy fete
for Dallas, as Coach Hoffmann's bunch fell 4-1 on Friday evening
behind a Tiger offensive attack generating 12 shots on goal from 40
total shots. Trailing 3-0, senior midfielder Alex Lebl helped the
Crusaders avoid the shutout, when he found twine at 77:40 for his
first of the season. Prior to the bout with Trinity, senior
goalkeeper James Kerin's .244 goals-against-average garnered
seventh-place nationally. Looking for redemption, Dallas then
turned their attention to Southwestern, as both squads duked it out
Sunday afternoon in Georgetown, Texas. The Crusaders jumped out to
an early 1-0 advantage when sophomore forward Mikhail Castillo
tallied a 22nd-minute score. Evan Perkins and Timothy Eamma
disappointed Dallas, however, as the duo deposited two goals late
to spark Southwestern to the 2-1 victory. On tap this week for
Dallas are a road and a neutral game -- Colorado College (Friday, 5
p.m. MDT), Elmhurst College-Ill. (Saturday, 3 p.m.
MDT).
Southwestern opened up SCAC action this weekend with a
pair of home games, facing Colorado College and the University of
Dallas. Friday night SU wasn't able to get their offense going as
Colorado College came out strong with three goals in the first
half. The Pirates tried to press the tempo in the second half but
couldn't get a shift in the momentum as the Tigers added another
goal to hand the Pirates a 4-0 loss. Southwestern was slow to start
again in on Sunday as UD jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the
first half, but it was all SU in the second frame as Evan Perkins
and Timothy Eamma added goals in the 47th and 61st minutes to give
the Pirates not only their first conference win, but also their
first win at home. Now 6-4 on the year and 1-1 in the SCAC, the
Pirates return to the road to face Austin College and Centenary
this weekend.
No. 1 Trinity opened up SCAC play with a pair of
home wins last week, defeating University of Dallas 4-1 on Friday,
then finishing the weekend with a 1-0 win over Colorado College.
Yuri Ribeiro picked up two goals and an assist in Friday’s
win over Dallas, while Victor Araujo had the game’s only goal
on Sunday. Ribeiro assisted on the only goal of the first half on
Friday, then scored twice to open the second half, picking up the
eventual game-winner. Trinity defeated both teams in SCAC
play last season as well. This week, the Tigers will hit the road
for two more SCAC contests. Trinity will play at new SCAC school
Centenary College on Friday evening, followed by a Sunday afternoon
matchup with Austin College. The Tigers defeated Austin 4-0 in
Sherman, Texas, last year.
To view the entire SCAC Kicks Weekly for Week 4,
click here.
