ADRIAN, Mich. – The Trine University men's soccer team won their fifth consecutive match on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory at Adrian College to conclude the conference season and secure the number two seed heading into the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament.
The Thunder are now 7-5-3 on the season and 5-1-1 in league action. The Bulldogs fall to 1-13-2 and they go winless through the league table with an 0-7-0 record.
Adrian showed fight early in the match with a pair of shots on goal that freshman Dillon Lambert was able to get to for the save. The first shot on goal for Trine was not until the 31st minute when senior Tyler Murphy forced the opponents to make a play on the ball to prevent a goal.
Murphy narrowly missed a score just a few minutes later when his shot hit the right goalpost, however the offensive attack would be effective with the match's first score. Freshman Landon Moreland precariously tiptoed the end line and delivered a perfect pass to junior Mohamed Aljably to send home to go up 1-0 just before halftime. His goal in the 40th minute would be the first of his collegiate career.
Coming out of halftime, the Thunder looked to add on. Sophomore Jarick Aguilar put a shot on frame less than four minutes into the second half, however the save was made by the Bulldog goalkeeper. Freshman Britton Sala would do the same as well as Aljably again just before insurance would be provided.
As they have done numerous times in 2023, sophomore Liam Zimmerman accepted a corner kick and distributed the perfect ball to classmate Gavin Hardy to make it 2-0 in the 80th minute. It is Hardy's third goal inside the conference and fifth on the year. Zimmerman now had eight points in the conference season with his fourth assist in the last seven matches.
That score would remain through the 90 minutes as Lambert (5-2-1) and the back line preserved the team's fifth shutout and third in their last four matches. Lambert made three total saves as Trine would go on to outshoot their opponents 15-6.
The Thunder await the winners of the #3 versus #6 match in the MIAA Tournament when Hope College faces Olivet College on Saturday, October 28 at 3 p.m. Trine will host the victor on Wednesday, November 1 in the MIAA Tournament Semifinal Round. In the regular season finale, the Thunder will travel to Indiana University on Friday, October 27 at 6:30 p.m. for a match on B1G+ (subscription service).
