ANGOLA, IND. -- Sophomore Connor Malmquist (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) scored a pair of goals to help lead the Trine University men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory against Alma (Mich.) College in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and regular-season finale at Weaver Field on senior day.
Despite the wet and muddy conditions, Malmquist put Trine (6-9, 2-5 MIAA) on the board with his first goal at the 25 minute mark with a helper from senior Nooh Aljabaly (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater) to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. Shots between the two schools were pretty even in the first half with the Thunder holding a slim edge, 5-4, but the Malmquist goal was the only point of the opening period as Trine maintained its 1-0 advantage at the break.
A little over five-and-a-half minutes into the second half, Trine made it a two-goal difference when freshman Colin Nicoski (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield East) found the back of the net during the 51st minute to make it a 2-0 game. The goal marked his first score of his collegiate career. Fellow freshman Ethan Olnick (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) was credited with an assist.
With less than two minutes to go in regulation, the duo of Malmquist and Aljabaly put another goal on the scoreboard for Trine with Malmquist getting his second marker of the afternoon and Aljabably his second assist on a give-and-go play against a single Alma (5-11, 2-5 MIAA) defender that put the game away and gave the home team a 3-0 victory.
Sophomore Taylor Medina (Mill Creek, Ind./Rochester) made his return at goalkeeper for Trine and played the entire game while stopping all four shots he faced for the shutout. The win marked his fourth of the season (4-4 overall).
Trine will be the No. 6 seed in this year's MIAA Tournament via tiebreaker and will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on No. 3 seed Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Nov. 2. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. The winner of the game will advance to face No. 2 seed Hope (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Nov. 6.