BANNOCKBURN, Ill. — The Trojans continued their historic start to the 2022 campaign on Wednesday afternoon at Schartner Field, taking down the visiting Judson University Eagles in a 2-0 decision.
As they have throughout the young season, the constantly aggressive Trojans came out firing right from the opening kickoff, but the Eagles remained calm and relied on a possession-based style to try to stifle the Trinity attack. They couldn't do so for long, however, as star forward Xavier Brown snatched away one of the Eagles' many back line passes and cashed in off the miscue, burying a shot to put the Trojans on top, 1-0. With both teams sensing the urgency of the conference battle for opposite reasons (the Trojans fighting for their fifth straight victory while the Eagles sought their first win of the campaign), the half took on an extremely physical nature and saw a remarkable six caution cards handed out to a plethora of players from both sides, but neither team cracked the scoresheet again for the duration of the stanza.
While Judson again tried to slow the tempo with their possession-heavy approach, the Trojans immediately made their mark in the second half. In the 47th minute, standout transfer
Jesus Ramos continued to display his wizardry for the Trojans, lofting in a picture-perfect free kick that was flicked in on a clever header by workhorse winger
Maqiis Haywood to double the Trojan advantage. Still trailing by two, Judson turned up the heat late, possessing the ball almost exclusively in the waning minutes. However, the Trojans held firm behind their tenacious defense led by
Jamin Kuepfer,
Edgar Barrientos, Ramos, and captain
Zach Mawdsley, forcing numerous blocked shots. Those that weren't blocked were handled by standout goalie
Armin Mahmutovic, who continued to shine in the crease with an 11-save clean sheet, as the Trojans outlasted the final Eagle surge to salt away a 2-0 victory.
While any win is important, there was some added significance to the 2-0 triumph over Judson. The win marks the fifth victory in as many contests for the red-hot Trojans, who have now posted the program's best six-game start since 2008, when that year's edition of the Trojans equaled this year's production by winning their first five straight en route to a 5-1-0 form to open the season. Even more impressive than the streak itself is the dominance the Trojans have exhibited while achieving it—their last four matches have concluded in shutout victories and in total, they've outscored their opponents 24-1 during the five-game stretch. While those numbers are impressive in a vacuum, they become even more noteworthy when considering that on this very date a year prior, the Trojans suffered a 4-0 defeat to the same Judson side that dropped their season record to 1-7-0. The saying "there's always next year," typically comes laced with sarcasm, but the Trojans embraced the mentality of the new season to reach heights no one thought possible for the now-brilliant side.
Up Next:
The surging Trojans (5-1-0) will look to continue their remarkable stretch when they square off with conference rival Trinity Christian in Palos Heights, Illinois, on Saturday, September 24.
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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.
