ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team was defeated by Adrian College in the final Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) match of the regular season by a score of 1-0. The Thunder now await the results of tonight's other conference matches to know their seed heading into the conference tournament. They entered the day as the two seed and would have clinched with a victory.
Following the loss, Trine holds a record of 8-5-3 overall and 3-2-2 in league play. The Bulldogs of Adrian finish their season with a record of 2-14-2 and 1-4-2.
The match started slow, with both teams trying to feel one another out. Tyler Murphy took the team's first shot in the 10th minute, but it was saved. Francesco Mazzei and Alhusain Yahya also put shots up to give the team five total attempts in the first 15 minutes.
Offsides penalties negated a potential score by the visitors, and with the Trine defense on their heels, the team capitalized on a mistake. A miscue on a pass by the defense allowed a Bulldog forward to get out in space and he was able to beat the keeper 1-on-1 for the match's only score in the 29th minute.
The Thunder beat the Bulldogs in shots 10-4 in half number one, and the lopsided offense would continue in the second half as Adrian counted on their defense to hold.
A foul by the Bulldogs in the 53rd minute allowed the Thunder to get their best look of the day: a free kick from just outside the penalty box. Murphy fired a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced back into the field of play and would not result in a score.
Evan Komrska got into the match late and fired a one-timer at the goal, but to no avail. Just before the final horn, Yahya took the final attempt at a tie, but missed high and right to seal the win for Adrian.
Trine outshot the opposition 18-5 and had 11 corner kicks to the Bulldogs' one. In goal, Aidan McGonagle made three saves.
The regular season finale takes place on Thursday, October 27 when the Thunder make the trip to Bloomington, Indiana to face NCAA DI Indiana University. Kick-off is slated for 7 pm on Big Ten Network Plus.