BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- After four non-conference matchups on the road to begin the season, the TIU women's soccer team returned home to Schartner Field on Saturday afternoon as they hosted the Saint Xavier Cougars in their home and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) opener. Coming off a big win at Vanguard on Monday in California, the Trojans looked to win their fourth straight match and start off league play with a key win.

Saturday would be an offensive masterpiece for Trinity with Abigail Olsson scoring the match's first goal in the 13th minute. After SXU tied the game in the 25th on a goal by Kimberly Marquez, Olsson again found the back of the net thanks to a crucial assist from Kate Jung. Mariyah Leonard would net a second Cougar goal in the final minutes of the first half as both teams went into halftime tied up at two goals a piece.

It wouldn't be long for TIU to regain the lead as Olsson scored her third goal of the match less than two minutes into the second half to earn the hat trick. Payton Siragusa would get in on the action on offense as she scored a pair of unassisted goals in the 55th and 68th minute to give the Trojans a commanding lead down the stretch. Leonard would net one final goal for SXU, but it would end as a dominating day for Trinity as they secured the 5-3 win to move to 1-0 in CCAC play.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• TIU breaks their all-time series tie with the Cougars with Saturday's win, improving to 9-8-3 against Saint Xavier.

• The Trojans have now won their last three matches against SXU, including ten of their last 11. TIU's last loss to the Cougars came on October 27, 2010.

• Trinity is 13-2-1 in their last 16 home openers dating back to 2006. They have also won four of their last six.

• TIU improves to 9-5-2 in their CCAC openers in the last 16 seasons. Saturday also marks the first time since 2012 and 2013 that the Trojans back won their conference opener in consecutive seasons.

• Saturday marked the first time since 2011 that the Trojans have notched at least five goals in a conference opener. TIU posted seven on September 24, 2011 in a 7-0 rout at Holy Cross (IN).

• Trinity's win marks their fourth consecutive victory. The Trojans have won at least four straight matches in each of the previous two seasons, and will seek their first five match winning streak since the middle of the 2017 NCCAA Tournament season.

• Abigail Olsson's hat trick was the first of her career, and first multi-goal game of her career. The sophomore forward from Crystal Lake, IL now has five goals this season, and eight on her career, the most goals scored among active TIU players.

• Olsson is the first Trinity player to record a hat trick since Lauren Henn posted three goals for the Trojans in their 14-0 win at Lincoln Christian to open the 2019 season.

• Payton Siragusa's two goals also mark the first multi-goal game of her college career. The sophomore forward from Sycamore, IL has three goals this season, and seven for her career.

• After starting all 90 minutes in net, TIU goalkeeper Sarah Davis passed McKenzie Chapell (2016) for the seventh most minutes played in goal in program history with 1,779 minutes.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (4-1-0) will return to the pitch on Tuesday, September 14 as they welcome the Redhawks of Indiana University-Northwest to Deerfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00pm CST at Schartner Field, and can be watched LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network. Fans are encouraged to wear tye dye themed apparel for the TIU Student Government's themed day.

Visit TIUtrojans.com to stay up to date with the latest TIU women's soccer news and updates.

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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.