BANNOCKBURN, Ill.. — On a day that felt more like summer than late October, the Trojans squared off against the St.. Ambrose Fighting Bees in their latest CCAC battle. At the final whistle, the Trojans came out on top 1-0, securing their first postseason berth since 2016.

TIU hopped on the scoreboard fast as the Fighting Bees were charged with a handball inside the penalty box within the opening two minutes of the game. The Trojans called on veteran forward TK Garside to duplicate his spot kick conversion from the previous game, and he came through burying the penalty kick once again to give Trinity the lead. The controversial nature of the goal caused tensions to rise quickly between the two fixtures and the remainder of the game saw emotions run ragged and an elevated physicality of play, with both teams having names written in the officials pocketbook throughout the contest. Following the penalty kick, possession and momentum swung rapidly with neither team sustaining real pressure in the other's end. Saint Ambrose held the offensive advantage in shots (7-4) and corner kicks (3-1), but both keepers maintained three saves in the half.

After the halftime break the Trojan offense came out striking again with a quick shot by Garside that was blocked by Ambrose's defense in the opening minute. The following corner kick proved fruitless, but the Trojan spirit remained high. Possession continued to change hands over the half-field line, with neither team able to get off multiple shots in succession until Ambrose managed to fire off successive shots. Trinity's backline staved off the attack, blocking shots and protecting the sophomore keeper Armin Mahmutovic from making a save. The clock dwindling and tensions still rising, three additional bookings were given in the final ten minutes of play. Momentum swung into Trinity's favor and the Trojans maintained possession and held the Fighting Bees to just two shots in those final minutes while launching six of their own. In the final two minutes the official opened his pocketbook and stopped the clock to book both Ambrose and Trinity, giving the Bees opportunity to set up shop with a look at the goal roughly 30 yards out. The cross into the box was snuffed out by the Trojan defense and they successfully defended two sequential corner kicks to keep the clean sheet and secure the victory. 

Trinity's defeat of Saint Ambrose gives the Trojans their first playoff berth since 2016 when they made it to the first round of conference playoffs but were knocked off by the Tigers of Olivet Nazarene. Going into the final week of regular season play, the Trojans sit at 5^th in the CCAC and will battle with the Jaguars of Governors State on Saturday evening at 8:30 pm.
 

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TIU Trojans
TIU Men's Soccer

 

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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.