Trinity University takes win from PU men’s team

posted in: Fall, Sports, Top Stories | 0

Travis Birrell (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) was able to net Pacific’s lone goal in the NCAA Division III tournament, but it was not enough for Pacific to overcome No. 1 Trinity’s (Texas) offense. The Boxers fell 3-1 to the Tigers.

Trinity (19-2-0) came out of the gates quick and netted their first goal in the eighth minute off Yuri Ribeiro’s header from a Kyle Porter corner kick.

Pacific (14-3-3) struggled to keep offensive possession of the ball in the first 20 minutes of play and spent a majority of the time on defense. Antonio Madeddu (So., Milwaukie, Ore.) got off Pacific’s first shot in the 21st minute missing high.

Trinity’s Ribeiro netted a second goal from about 15 yards out to increase the Tigers lead to 2-0 before Pacific found the goal.

Patrick Murray (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) dribbled through the defense in the 39th minute to get off the Boxers’ first shot on goal, but goalkeeper Joe Benefield deflected the ball out of bounds to give Pacific a corner kick. Jasem Jaihouni (Sr., Portland, Ore.) took the kick and Travis Birrell (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) scored the Pacific goal on a header to put the Boxers on the board.

Heading into halftime Trinity had a 2-1 lead and had outshot Pacific 9-4.

In the second half the closest Pacific would get to finding the goal was in the 58th minute when Murray’s shot hit the high post of the goal.

Trinity added another goal in the 66th minute off a penalty kick. Andrew Stevermer (Sr., Gillette, Wyo.) made the save on Ribeiro’s penalty kick, but Ribeiro was able to control the rebound and score his third goal of the night for his second hat trick of the season. The match ended with Trinity defeating Pacific 3-1.

Stevermer tied a season high with nine total saves. Murray led the Boxers with four shots.

“I am very proud of the way the team played and what they have accomplished,” stated head coach Jim Brazeau. “I am especially proud of the seniors who played in their last game and left a great legacy for those that follow.”

With the loss, Pacific will bid farewell to nine seniors. Jaihouni, Birrell, Stevermer, Mike Iacolucci (Seattle, Wash.), Kizamu Tsutakawa (Seattle, Wash.), Avery Neal (Los Alamos, N.M.) Sean Mills (Seattle, Wash.), Ruma Perez (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Chris Grasso (Las Vegas, N.V.).

The loss ended Pacific’s season and Trinity advances to play the second round match tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. to face the winner of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 22 Texas-Tyler.

Sponsored

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *