CHICAGO, Ill. — Saturday evening the Trojans traveled to downtown Chicago for their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opening match against the Cougars of Saint Xavier University. TIU recorded their first goal of the season, but ultimately dropped the game 2-1 to the Cougars.

Trinity's offense came out quick as Abigail Olsson notched the first shot of the game barely a minute into play. From there the Cougars took possession and held the Trojans in their end with back to back corner kicks. Roughly nine minutes into the half, Saint Xavier scored the first goal of the contest from outside the penalty box.

The Trojans struggled to maintain possession and connect through the thirds of the field, often clearing the ball only for the Cougars to reclaim possession and push them back into a defensive position.  A few such clearances  broke past the Cougars defensive line for Olsson or Payton Siragusa to run onto but unfortunately the Trojans were unable to create any sustained offense from it.

With three minutes remaining in the second half, the Cougars were given a yellow card for a foul on defender Morgan Busick. Trinity used the injury break for a moment to regroup and as a result of the dead ball held the Cougars into their half of the field until the whistle for half time.

With the momentum from the end of the first half, the Trojans came out strong on offense once again and put pressure on the Saint Xavier back line. After an unfortunate offside call, TIU regained possession and buried their first goal of the season from the feet of freshman Sarah Krick after a pass played by Busick for the assist.

After tying the score, possession changed hands as both teams battled for the upper hand. In the 57^th minute a foul was called on Trinity near the top of the penalty box, ultimately creating the Cougars second and game winning goal.

Senior goalkeeper Sarah Davis played the full ninety minutes in net, adding nine saves to her resume after earning CCAC and NCCAA player of the week honors for last week's performance. Midfielder Kinsey Gomez notched her first two shots of the season, while Siragusa and Olsson each added two. Krick scored her first collegiate goal at forward for the Trojans.

Up Next:
The Trojans (0-4-1) will travel to Indiana on Wednesday for another CCAC match-up, this time against the Redhawks of IU Northwest in a midweek night game. Kick off is scheduled for 8:00pm on September 14.

 

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TIU Trojans
TIU Women'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.