The No. 7 men’s soccer team opened its campaign with a pair of one-goal victories before a sluggish start provided the difference in a top-10 showdown on Saturday night, beginning the year with a 2-1 record.

The Judges fell to the No. 6 Trinity Tigers 2-0 in San Antonio, Texas during the squad’s second game in as many days on Saturday, conceding both goals in the contest’s first five minutes. The squad knocked off Hardin-Simmons College 2-1 on Friday in San Antonio and claimed a season-opening 1-0 victory over Bridgewater State University last Tuesday at home. 

No. 7 Judges 0 Trinity 2

It took the Tigers just two minutes to strike against the Judges’ defense, when Trinity freshman forward Ryan Hunter collected a through ball and broke toward the net unmarked. Faced one-on-one with goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18, Hunter slotted the ball into the bottom corner to give the home side the early 1-0 lead.

Trinity did not stop pressing forward after the goal, maintaining possession and earning a corner kick less than two minutes later. On their first corner of the game, Trinity junior defender Zac Treu sent the ball to the far end of the 18-yard-box where Trinity senior midfielder Murray Fraser directed the ball to Trinity sophomore defender Kellen Ried just outside of the six-yard-box. Ried headed the ball into the open net for the Tigers’ second goal in five minutes, leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb. 

Trinity managed 11 shots during the first half, compared to just four for the Judges, and held a 19-8 advantage overall in shots. The Judges pushed hard for a goal in the second half, managing five corners after the interval, but were unable to register a goal.

No. 7 Judges 2 

Hardin-Simmons 1 (2 OT)

The Judges opened Friday’s contest in almost the same manner as Saturday’s game, down by a goal early in the contest. 

Just five minutes into the game, Hardin-Simmons senior defender Dustin Beal redirected a free kick into the net. 

The Judges responded to the goal by dominating the rest of the match, sending 10 shots toward goal during the first half, and getting the necessary equalizer when defender Stephen DePietto ’19 found forward Chris Bradley ’16 with a long pass in the box. Bradley’s first goal of the year tied the game at the 37:47 mark, but neither side was able to get much going in the second half. Though the Judges took nine shots in the second half, they put just three on net, while conceding a single shot on target that was easy for Woodhouse to save.

The two sides went to extra time with the game tied after 90 minutes, and it took the Judges until the 105th minute to net the game winner. 

Bradley took a defender one-on-one inside the 18-yard-box and was tackled from behind, earning a pivotal penalty kick for the squad. Midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 stepped up to the ball and converted, sending the Judges to a 2-1 victory.

No.  7  Judges  1  Bridgewater  State   0

Midfielder Christian Hernandez ’18 netted the Judges’ only goal in the squad’s season opener last Tuesday, rocketing a strike into the top right corner in the 82nd minute. The Judges, the better of the two sides, dominated play for much of the contest—including an 8-3 shot advantage in the first half—but were unable to find the back of the net. In the 82nd minute—after spending most of the game controlling play down the flanks—forward Zach Vieira ’17 cut in toward the center of the field at the top of the 18-yard-box and had a shot ricochet back toward the midfield where Hernandez sent a laser into the top corner, the first of his collegiate career. The Judges will look to get back on track tonight, hosting Nichols College at 7 p.m. before traveling to Clark University on Friday and  hosting Babson College on Saturday.