TIU Soccer hosts final matches of regular season
Greg Gorham
TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (Men) (3-10-3, 2-7-1 CCAC) vs. HOLY CROSS SAINTS (12-5, 7-3 CCAC)
Tuesday, November 5 | 2:00 p.m.
Schartner Field | Deerfield, Ill.
TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (Women) (10-5-2, 5-3-2 CCAC) vs. HOLY CROSS SAINTS (3-13, 0-10 CCAC)
Wednesday, November 6 | 2:00 p.m.
Schartner Field | Deerfield, Ill.
Game Notes | Streaming Video
Twitter Updates: @TIUTrojans | @TIU_WSoccer | @TIUMensSoccer | Join the Conversation: #TIUSoccer
This Week
The final regular season match of the year is finally here, as the Trinity International men and women's soccer teams look to finish out the year with a pair of victories over the Holy Cross Saints. While the men's squad will look to cap off the season with their fourth victory of the year, the women's team is still battling for a chance to host a first-round matchup in the CCAC Tournament.
Both matches will be featured on the TIU Sports Network, which can be found through the 'Watch Now' link at TIUtrojans.com, or at http://TIUSportsNetwork.TIU.edu.
Last Time Out
A very up-and-down week for both Trojan squads, as TIU fell to Robert Morris on both men's and women's sides, before recovering to pick up a pair of shutouts at St. Francis over the weekend. The men's squad suffered their biggest loss of the year, falling 7-1 to the Eagles in a mid-week matchup at Schartner Field. Zach Reget scored the team's lone goal, for his third of the season. TIU bounced back to earn a shutout victory over the Saints on Saturday. Senior defender Tyler Wilcox was the difference in the 1-0 victory, scoring the first-ever goal in his four-year Trojan career, in the next-to-last match of his final season.
The women's team also took a tough loss at home to Robert Morris last week, falling 5-2. Ashley Bowman and Morgan Elzinga both scored goals in the match. The Trojans then clinched their spot in the upcoming CCAC Tournament with a 2-0 win at St. Francis. Samantha Yasatan scored both goals, her 13th and 14th of the year, to push Trinity International to their 10th win of the season.
Offensive Leaders
Sophomore Samantha Yasatan has been the Trojans most dominant weapon this season, scoring a team-high 14 goals. Yasatan ranks sixth in the CCAC in goals scored, and is averaging 0.82 goals per match. The sophomore is also one of the league leaders in shots, taking an average of 3.88 cracks at the goal per game, 5th-most in the CCAC. She also ranks 6th in the conference in points, with 34, and 7th in assists, with six.
Four Trojans rank among the top ten in the CCAC in assists, with Melissa Loretto tied for the conference lead with eight. Morgan Elzinga's seven assists place her in a tie for third on the CCAC leaderboard, with Yasatan in a tie for seventh, and Nikki Roeder in 10th, with five. Roeder posted the CCAC's highest single-game assist total, recording three helpers in the Trojan's 5-1 win at Illinois Tech.
Loretto and Yasatan also both rank among the national leaders; Loretto's assist total ranks 41st in the NAIA, while Yasatan is 44th nationally in goals scored, and 49th in total points.
For the men, Erik Yamane has posted a team-high four goals, while Zach Reget has scored three, all coming within the team's last four matches. Jared Ventura ranks third on the team with two goals scored.
Coaching Milestone
Trinity International head coach Patrick Gilliam earned a milestone victory to open up the 2013 women's soccer season at Siena Heights. With the 2-1 victory on Aug. 27, Gilliam earned his 250th career women's soccer victory. Now in his 17th season coaching the Trojan women, Gilliam has a career record of 259-108-15 (.698), and is 4th among active coaches on the NAIA wins list.
Playoff Picture
The Trinity women can finish anywhere from 4th to 7th in the final CCAC regular season standings, and have clinched a spot in the CCAC Tournament, beginning next week. With the final round of matches this week, there are three key matchups for Trojan fans to keep an eye on.
To finish as the No. 4 seed and host a first-round match on Nov. 9, the Trojans must earn a win over Holy Cross on Wednesday, while getting some help from a few other clubs. First, Purdue-Calumet (3-7 in the CCAC) must win at No. 21 Judson (6-3-1) on the road. If the Peregrines can pull off the upset, then TIU would need No. 14 Olivet Nazarene (8-1-1) to either win or draw at St. Francis (6-4) later Wednesday night.
If the season ended today, the Trojans would face No. 18 Robert Morris on the road to open tournament action.
Goalkeeping Leaders
The Trojan back line and goalkeepers have put up some quality performances in the CCAC this year; the TIU men currently rank eighth in the CCAC in goals allowed, with 33 goals through 16 matches this year. The Trojans currently hold a 1.97 goals against average through 1,511 minutes played this year, good for the eighth-lowest average in the conference.
The TIU goalkeepers have shared duty so far this season, with junior Kevin Montelongo making nine starts and totaling 785 minutes in goal, while senior Sean Avila has made seven starts himself, and has seen 726 minutes on the pitch. Montelongo has posted a .730 save percentage this year, good for 7th in the CCAC. The junior also ranks 3rd in the CCAC with a 4.50 saves-per-match average, and 8th with 54 total saves.
Defensive Lockdown
The Trojans have had one of the better defenses in the league this season, allowing 24 goals through 17 matches. TIU picked up its sixth shutout of the season last week, in a 2-0 win at St. Francis. The team ranks fifth in the CCAC in goals allowed and fifth in goals against average, at 1.36. While goalkeeper Liz Burzynski has been strong through all 1,589 minutes this season, it's been the TIU defenders that have dominated, rarely letting the ball through to the keeper, as the Trojans currently rank last in the conference with just 61 saves. Burzynski does still appear on the conference leaderboard, with a 1.36 goals against average that ranks fifth in the league, and a ninth-best .718 save percentage. Burzynski also ranks 2nd in the league with six shutouts on the year.
Scouting the Opponents
Holy Cross • Men's Soccer
The Saints come into the final match of the season on a four-match win streak, including a 6-2 decision over Purdue-Calumet last Saturday. The match with the Trojans holds a lot of weight for Holy Cross, who are one of five teams still fighting to finish as high as second in the CCAC standings. Senior Garbhan Grant currently leads the team with 10 goals scored on the year, and ranks fifth in the CCAC. Grant is also 17th in the NAIA and fourth in the league with 10 assists. Goalkeeper Iain McTurk is 25th nationally with 5.7 saves per game.
The Trojans last defeated Holy Cross in 2010, with a 2-0 win at Schartner Field on Sept. 25. The two sides earned a draw in 2011 before the Saints defeated TIU 1-0 last season.
Holy Cross • Women's Soccer
Holy Cross is having a rough 2013, and are looking for their first win in league play this season. The Saints will look to end an 11-match slide when they take on the Trojans, with their last win coming on Sept. 13, in a 6-0 win over Andrews (Mich.). Sophomore Mayte Carillo Benavides leads the team with five goals on the year, followed closely by junior Leah Trattles, with four. Goalkeeper Aileen Clouse ranks 2nd in the CCAC, and 18th nationally, with 126 total saves.
The Trojans have earned four straight wins over Holy Cross since 2009, outscoring the Saints 33-0 during that time.
NCCAA Leaders
Sophomore forward Samantha Yasatan appears on the NCCAA leaderboard with her solid play this season. Heading into last week's match with Robert Morris, the Racine, Wisc. native ranks 16th nationally in points per game (2.00 ppg), and 13th in goals per game (0.80). Junior Melissa Loretto is one of the NCCAA's best in assists, averaging 0.47 helpers per game to rank 19th. Goalkeeper Liz Burzynski is 18th in the country with her 1.21 goals against average as well.
As a team, the Trojan women have the 10th-best points-per-game average, at 7.33, while their 2.33 goals against average is 14th-best in the NCCAA.
