OLIVET, Mich. – The Trine University men's soccer team notched their first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) win of the 2022 season on Tuesday 3-1 in a matinee match at Olivet College. Junior Tyler Murphy found the back of the net twice, making him the program's leader in both goals scored (29) and points accumulated (67) in the NCAA DIII era.
"It's a dream come true for me to break the record," Murphy said postgame. "I have been driven to be successful in my career since the first day I started playing soccer. I owe a thanks to my friends, family and coaches for being by my side during the process and believing in me and my abilities. The Trine men's soccer team has been nothing short of a second family for me and I would have never been able to accomplish this without them pushing me to be my best every day."
The win pushes the Thunder record to 6-4-2 overall and 1-1-1 in league play. The Comets fall to 3-6-3 and 0-1-2.
The first score of the match came just four minutes in. Trine collected an opposing goal kick at midfield and pushed the ball into the offensive end of the pitch. Alhusain Yahya got the ball into the box and Luke Kearns received a cross and tapped it home from the left side to go up 1-0.
From there, both teams had decent looks at the net, but goalkeeper Aidan McGonagle and the rest of the Thunder defense refused to break. The 1-0 lead remained until the 37th minute, when Murphy would extend the lead.
After entering as a substitute in the 26th minute, Murphy dribbled past the last line of defense for Olivet and avoided a slide tackle with a shot and score from a tough angle from the left side of the net to the right. That goal would give him the most in program history and his later score ended up being the one to put him alone at the top of the points list.
Jay Stevens and Colin Nicoski both attempted to pile on for the visitors off of corner kicks at the end of the half, but the 2-0 lead remained at intermission.
The Comets made McGonagle work early in the second half in a comeback attempt, but a pair of saves shut down all momentum the opponents were trying to build. Eventually, the home team was able to break the shutout with a goal off of a corner kick in the 70th minute.
With the lead cut down to 2-1, Trine forged ahead to make sure that they put away the match. Braden Estep played the ball ahead to Murphy, who sprinted into good position to get behind the defense. One-on-one with the Olivet keeper, Murphy hit his spot in the bottom right corner of the net to go ahead 3-1.
The defense stood tall in the closing minutes to notch the win for the Thunder after 90 minutes.
In total, the team outshot the Comets 14-11 and McGonagle was credited with four saves.
Up next, Trine hosts Albion College on Shive Field this Saturday, October 15. Prior to the 12 pm match, the Thunder will honor its seniors.
