GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team nearly pulled off an improbable comeback on Tuesday night at DePauw University, but ultimately came up short by a score of 3-2. The Thunder were trailing 3-0 at the end of the first half, but scored twice in the second to give themselves a chance in the closing minutes.
The loss breaks Trine's five match winning streak and moves them to 5-2-0 on the season. The Tigers of DePauw are 4-2-3 overall.
Ryan Cote and Evan Komrska each put shots on net in the opening minutes to put pressure on DePauw's defense, but both opportunities were thwarted by the opposing keeper. The Tigers would turn the tables and score in the 22nd minute to take a 1-0 lead.
DePauw would go for back-to-back goals in the 34th and 37th minutes to take a commanding 3-0 advantage. That score would remain going into the half, thanks in part to Aidan McGonagle, who made a save in the 39th minute as the Tigers looked to add on.
A fortunate bounce finally went the way of the Thunder in the 54th minute. DePauw used a hard foul to keep a scoring opportunity from happening, but were hit with a red card in the process. Tyler Murphy converted the resulting penalty kick goal to cut into the deficit. It is his 27th career goal, tying him with Nooh Aljabaly for the most goals in Trine's NCAA Division III history.
Liam Zimmerman put a shot on goal in the 77th minute to try to continue the comeback, but a key save kept the score where it was.
A few moments later, confusion on a throw-in allowed the ball to trickle into the back of the net for Trine to make it 3-2. Jared Cromwell got a head on the ball and Cote was in position to convert his second goal of the season.
In the waning seconds of the match, it was all hands on deck for the Thunder on a corner with just over one minute remaining. McGonagle came all the way from the goal to the offensive zone to try to get a piece of a corner kick. Unfortunately, he would be hit with a foul going for the loose ball and the match would end in defeat, 3-2.
Trine was outshot 15-12 in the loss and McGonagle recorded five saves in net.
The Thunder have a chance to rebound with a victory on Saturday, September 24 when Trine ventures to Ohio Wesleyan to face the Battling Bishops. That match kicks off at 7 pm.