Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

ASC on Sunday

Mary Hardin-Baylor 5 - East Texas Baptist 0

UMHB has already clinched the ASC regular season championship, so this game is mostly just a warm-up for its big non-conference game on Wednesday at Trinity. That didn't interfere with its focus for this game though.  Mary Hardin-Baylor scored 28 seconds into the game and then scored two more before half and added two more after half, out-shooting ETBU 26-6.  They also played 26 players and no player was on for more than 71 minutes, with most playing a half or less.  The team is now 11-1-3 and 5-0 in the ASC. 

[Kuiper]

NWC action on Sunday

Whitman 5 - Linfield 1

Whitman's first goal really took the wind out of Linfield's sales.  Not really, because the wind picked up significantly and leaves started blowing on the field.  It was really demoralizing though.  Linfield's defender sent a simple pass back to his GK on the side of the goal in the 12th minute and the GK trapped the ball to his right in front of the goal and pulled back his leg to pass the ball to his defender on the other side.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the GK, the Whitman striker sprinted in and kicked the ball into the goal before the Linfield goalkeeper's leg had come forward and made contact with the ball.  In fact, the Linfield GK ended up on the ground when his leg failed to make contact with anything.  For fans of the comic, it was like Charlie Brown trying kick the ball after Lucy pulled it away.  And then, in the ultimate act of disrespect, Whitman's scorekeeper said the second goal came 4 seconds later.  Actually, it was more like two minutes, but it was after a sequence of passes numbering close to the double digits around Linfield players culminating in a beautiful shot from the top of the box.  It just felt like 4 seconds later.  At half, it was 3-1 and Whitman tacked on two more in the second half to stay on top of the NWC, two points ahead of Pacific Lutheran, and maintain its unbeaten record at 11-0-5.

Pacific Lutheran 3 - Willamette 2

PLU keeps pace with Whitman, but just barely.  PLU was up 3-0 at half and maintained that lead most of the second half.  Willamette, however, amped up the pressure and broke through with a goal in the 87th minute.  It scored a second in the 89th and basically just ran out of time to tie up the game 3-3 (which is how the game ended the first time these two played).  To be fair, this looked like one of those situations where the PLU coach made a bunch of subs between the 75th and 80th minutes when they were up 3-0 and then Willamette scored the two goals in quick succession before he could get some starters back on the pitch.  One of the deep subs brought on during that period was a freshman goalkeeper.  Poor kid.  Gets his first 8 minutes of college playing time and gives up both goals.  Now he has a 22.04 GAA for 2025.  Ouch!  Incidentally, I tend to blame the coach for this.  I love getting a backup GK a few minutes, but if you're going to do it, perhaps keep in an experienced defender or two.  When you take out everyone at the same time, it rarely goes well.

George Fox 1 - Lewis & Clark 0

L&C hung in there for a long time, but finally conceded a goal in the 75th minute.  Lewis & Clark's offense has been a bit better this season, but not in this game.  They were outshot 22-3 and 14-0 in the second half.  George Fox hasn't had a good season, but it at least manages to stay clear of the Linfield/Lewis & Clark celler.

[Kuiper]

Pomona-Pitzer drops out and is replaced by Texas Lutheran.  Pacific Lutheran jumps one spot.  Trinity and Southwestern remain 1-2 despite moving to Region VI when they joined the SAA (not that any of this matters!).

Region X - Poll 8 - October 28, 2025
Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    Trinity University (Texas)    NR    13-1-0
2    Southwestern University    NR    14-0-3
3    University of Mary Hardin-Baylor    NR    12-1-3
4    Colorado College    NR    10-0-6
5    Whitman College    NR    11-0-5
6    Whittier College    NR    8-2-4
7    Pacific Lutheran University    NR    10-3-3
8    Texas Lutheran University    NR    10-4-2

[Ron Boerger]

UMHB at Trinity, 6:00pm CST, October 29.
Southwestern at Trinity, 7:30pm CST, November 1st.

[Kuiper]

Southwestern at Trinity, 7:30pm CST, November 1st.

Battle for Region X apparently!

Great matchup actually.  Simple Coach and EJay put it in their pool for this week, but didn't have much to say about the matchup on their podcast.  Simple Coach suggested that he just didn't know how to compare the teams to teams nationwide because the Texas teams play so differently and don't get to play many teams outside of the area before the NCAA tournament.  Notwithstanding that both Trinity and Southwestern are playing lots of teams outside of Texas this season because of SAA conference play, I think SC's comments are not entirely unfair.  This year, Trinity lost to the only top team it played from out of the area - Christopher Newport (by a 3-2 score).  Southwestern hasn't played any top teams from out of the area and it tied UC Santa Cruz 0-0 at home, which isn't a great result.  So, I think both teams have something to prove when they get to the NCAA tournament. 

Nevertheless, the winner of this game could be helped significantly, especially if they also win the SAA tournament, because it might be enough for them to climb into a position to host or get favored status in the NCAA tournament.  Trinity could be helped even more in NPI terms if they also defeat Mary Hardin-Baylor.  As Trinity's win against Bowdoin in the NCAA tournament last season (and subsequent loss the next round when shipped off to the far northeast) demonstrates, it helps immensely if you can stay closer to home as long as possible.

I should add that the Trinity game is also of huge importance for Mary Hardin-Baylor.  Although the ASC is down to 4 teams this season, they are still holding a conference tournament.  So, the fact that UMHB has wrapped up the ASC regular season championship doesn't guarantee that they will get the ASC automatic bid.  Mary Hardin Baylor is currently #36 in the NPI, which doesn't give them a lot of wiggle room if they don't win the AQ.  If they can beat Trinity, that might be enough to make the AQ not critical.

[Ejay]

I tend to offer little commentary when it comes to teams out west (including TX) since I know so little about them. On paper this looks like a great game. Trinity 13-1; Southwestern 14-0-3. Both are undefeated in SAA so it has huge implications.

But something I did notice, and chose not to mention on the pod is that Trinity is 42-1-6 vs. Southwestern and haven't lost since 2013, despite outshooting them 38-4 in that game.

Does Southwestern have a legit shot here?

[Kuiper]

I tend to offer little commentary when it comes to teams out west (including TX) since I know so little about them. On paper this looks like a great game. Trinity 13-1; Southwestern 14-0-3. Both are undefeated in SAA so it has huge implications.

But something I did notice, and chose not to mention on the pod is that Trinity is 42-1-6 vs. Southwestern and haven't lost since 2013, despite outshooting them 38-4 in that game.

Does Southwestern have a legit shot here?

No need to defend not saying a ton about this matchup.  I appreciate that you have made a concerted effort to pick games from out WEST generally and this is indeed a good one.

As for the game, Trinity has indeed traditionally had Southwestern's number.  Part of that is because Southwestern doesn't have the history of success as a program that Trinity has had going back to the 1990s when Trinity used to beat Southwestern by big margins most years, so that overall record isn't a surprise, but Trinity has won the last 6 times they've played.  The fact that the game is being played in San Antonio is another factor in Trinity's favor.

Southwestern definitely has a legit shot this year and this is its best team in awhile, especially on offense.  The teams have different styles, though, and it may be that the team that can dictate the style of play will win.  Both teams have elite defenses.  Southwestern has only given up 7 goals all season and Trinity has given up 9.  Southwestern's recipe for success on offense has been a tall striker (6'3" Greyson Pinto) and a tall defender (6'4" Cooper Pero) scoring on corners and set plays typically (or crosses for Pinto) and a talented and tall outside back (6'2" Raghav Sharma) who contributes on those, but also bombs up to initiate the attack in the run of play.  That can leave them vulnerable in the back, though.

Trinity doesn't really rely upon hopeful crosses in the air for a ton of scoring, which means that they aren't playing into Southwestern's defensive strength.  Trinity is elite in passing out of the back and playing the transition game, which often involves finding the space left open by a fullback who has bombed forward, which exploits Southwestern's defensive weakness.  Sharma could stay home for Southwestern to guard against that, but then they lose one of their best offensive playmakers.  Once Trinity advances the ball up the field, it uses a lot of close passing to open up space in the ground for shots from Adam Knutsen and Samuel Theiss, which isn't necessarily Southwestern's defensive strength.  Moreover, Trinity also has an outside back who bombs forward (Alex Baltov), but he's more likely to take it to the endline and find the runner than to throw in a hopeful cross.  If Baltov can get around his man, that may draw out one of the tall central defenders, which leaves Southwestern vulnerable.

Trinity's vulnerability is a disciplined defensive team playing a compact low block with a speedy striker up top who is ready for a counter attack.    Southwestern certainly could play a low block, but I haven't seen it this year (mostly because of the quality of the opposition) and, while Pinto could play a target striker up top, I'm not sure he would be characterized as a speedy kick-and-run type (or at least I haven't see that a ton).  If Southwestern can generate a bunch of set-play opportunities, though, they may be able to beat Trinity's defenders/GK in the air.  Trinity's other vulnerability is to a strong press on their defensive half of the field.  It's a risky strategy because Trinity is good at playing out of the back and it leaves a team vulnerable, especially if they don't have the depth to shuttle players in and out to keep the pressing energy up, but Southwestern has the players to executive it and the defenders in the back who can cover a lot of ground if Trinity ends up hoofing the ball to break the press.

[Kuiper]

Trinity 2 - UMHB 0 (75th minute) [updated with links to Instagram clips of some of the goals]

Zach Anderson scores with a volley from the top of the box off a UMHB header challenge that curves into the goal.  Beautiful and well-deserved goal.  Another angle

26 seconds later, the GK takes down Adam Knutsen in the box and former Kenyon player Alex Ramirez scores the PK

In a blink of an eye, Trinity took a 0-0 tie and created a 2-0 lead.  UMHB has a hill to climb

UPDATE:  Trinity 3 - UMHB 0 (86th minute)

Trinity earns another PK and Julian Lopez scores on a Panenka.  Kind of audacious.

UPDATE:  Trinity 3 - UMHB 1 (88th minute)

UMHB gets one back on a free kick that bounces around the box and eventually finds its way to a UMHB striker in front of the box.  Seemed like the Trinity players were too casual with the 3-0 lead at that point, but they had also subbed out a lot of regulars by that point.

FINAL:  Trinity 3 - UMHB 1

A game that was a lot closer than the score would suggest, but Trinity kind of wears you down that way with its possession.  It took a lot out of the UMHB players having to constantly play defense in what was effectively a rondo game with occasional switches.

[Kuiper]

Pomona-Pitzer 2 - Whittier 0

Huge victory for the Sagehens. Vaults P-P from 6th in the SCIAC over Whittier and into 2nd place heading into the last game of the regular season against Caltech.  Pomona-Pitzer had one goal right before the half and a second about 8 minutes into the second half and then held on with a combination of tenacious defense and great goalkeeping by Jasper Broad (including a fantastic left-handed full-stretch save in the upper right corner of the net in the final seconds of the game).

[Kuiper]

Late night SCIAC action:

Occidental 2 - Cal Lutheran 1

Oxy secures at least a tie for first in the SCIAC with the victory over lowly Cal Lu.  It was actually 1-1 in the 54th minute, but Oxy countered with a second goal in the 60th minute and held on for the rest of the game. Although the score wasn't high, the teams definitely were free-swinging tonight.  They each took 22 shots!  Occidental finishes the regular season on a three game winning streak and goes into the SCIAC tournament with a 6-3-3 record (8-5-4 overall).

Redlands 2 - CMS 1

Anders Beckton scored two goals, the second of which was a great target striker goal where he held off two defenders in the box and turned to his right for a quick strike between them that was just inside the post and left the CMS GK standing and watching.  CMS did get a late goal to make things interesting on a beautiful zig-zagging run through traffic at the top of the box by a CMS defender who dished it off to high left for an immediate shot and goal by Collin Ross.  There were shouts for a PK toward the end when John Laidlaw was upended by the GK in the box, but the ref was hearing none of it.  Redlands wins its 4th game in a row and jumps into second place in the SCIAC with one game left against Cal Lutheran and a chance to tie Occidental for the regular season championship.   

[Gray Fox]

Late night SCIAC action:

Occidental 2 - Cal Lutheran 1

Oxy secures at least a tie for first in the SCIAC with the victory over lowly Cal Lu.  It was actually 1-1 in the 54th minute, but Oxy countered with a second goal in the 60th minute and held on for the rest of the game. Although the score wasn't high, the teams definitely were free-swinging tonight.  They each took 22 shots!  Occidental finishes the regular season on a three game winning streak and goes into the SCIAC tournament with a 6-3-3 record (8-5-4 overall).

Redlands 2 - CMS 1

Anders Beckton scored two goals, the second of which was a great target striker goal where he held off two defenders in the box and turned to his right for a quick strike between them that was just inside the post and left the CMS GK standing and watching.  CMS did get a late goal to make things interesting on a beautiful zig-zagging run through traffic at the top of the box by a CMS defender who dished it off to high left for an immediate shot and goal by Collin Ross.  There were shouts for a PK toward the end when John Laidlaw was upended by the GK in the box, but the ref was hearing none of it.  Redlands wins its 4th game in a row and jumps into second place in the SCIAC with one game left against Cal Lutheran and a chance to tie Occidental for the regular season championship.   

Oxy is labeling themselves as champions on Facebook.

[Kuiper]

Late night SCIAC action:

Occidental 2 - Cal Lutheran 1

Oxy secures at least a tie for first in the SCIAC with the victory over lowly Cal Lu.  It was actually 1-1 in the 54th minute, but Oxy countered with a second goal in the 60th minute and held on for the rest of the game. Although the score wasn't high, the teams definitely were free-swinging tonight.  They each took 22 shots!  Occidental finishes the regular season on a three game winning streak and goes into the SCIAC tournament with a 6-3-3 record (8-5-4 overall).

Redlands 2 - CMS 1

Anders Beckton scored two goals, the second of which was a great target striker goal where he held off two defenders in the box and turned to his right for a quick strike between them that was just inside the post and left the CMS GK standing and watching.  CMS did get a late goal to make things interesting on a beautiful zig-zagging run through traffic at the top of the box by a CMS defender who dished it off to high left for an immediate shot and goal by Collin Ross.  There were shouts for a PK toward the end when John Laidlaw was upended by the GK in the box, but the ref was hearing none of it.  Redlands wins its 4th game in a row and jumps into second place in the SCIAC with one game left against Cal Lutheran and a chance to tie Occidental for the regular season championship.   

Oxy is labeling themselves as champions on Facebook.

Since Redlands is the only team that could tie them, that makes sense since Occidental beat Redlands earlier in the season and head-to-head must be the first tie-breaker.

[Kuiper]

A couple of games in the SCAC

LeTournesu 2 - Austin 1

Jumps LeTourneau into 6th place in the SCAC at least temporarily.  LeTourneau needs St. Thomas to beat Centenary today to clinch a playoff spot.  Austin is in 4th, but could drop to 5th if Hendrix beats Ozarks tonight.

Texas Lutheran 0 - Concordia TX 0

Race stays tight in the SCAC.  Colorado college can still pass TLU for first seed with a win over Dallas today, although they use a neutral site format, so that doesn't matter as much.

[Ron Boerger]

Race stays tight in the SCAC.  Colorado college can still pass TLU for first seed with a win over Dallas today, although they use a neutral site format, so that doesn't matter as much.

LOL - in Round Rock, TX, about five miles from where I used to live before moving to San Antonio earlier this year.

Interesting to note that, after granting the regular season champion hosting rights since formation, the SAA went to assigned hosting for its championships this year after Southwestern and Trinity joined.  You can look at it two ways:  first, that it allows schools a better chance to plan travel expenses and, where necessary, book flights well in advance; second, that it keeps the schools in the east from having to constantly travel to Trinity and Southwestern, who presently are 1-2 in men's soccer and volleyball, with Trinity leading in women's soccer.   The only one of those championships hosted by either school this year is ironically women's soccer, where Southwestern is only fifth of six schools to qualify pending the results of this weekend's games and very much in danger of dropping out if they lose to Trinity.  Southwestern also hosts today's XC championship; Trinity hosts nothing this year and in the four years currently published gets only volleyball next year, women's soccer in 2027, track/field in 2028, and men's/women's basketball in 2029.   Baseball and softball championships, including for the upcoming season, have not yet been parceled out. 

Centre, for reasons known only to the conference, hosts swimming/diving and indoor track/field every year, tennis is always in Memphis (where Rhodes is located), golf is always at a course in Dickson, TN.  I wonder if that was the cost of admission for the western schools - yeah, you can come, but we're going to keep the great majority of championship competition in the traditional eastern SAA footprint.

[Kuiper]

Trinity 2 - Southwestern 1 (66th minute)

Southwestern's Cooper Pero trips up Adam Knutsen in the box after Knutsen slalomed his way to the box and Samuel Theiss hits a strong PK to put the Tigers ahead.  Southwestern had scored first on a set play and Trinity tied right before half.

FINAL:  Trinity 2 - Southwestern 1

Lots of crazy moments toward the end of the game - multiple dangerous free kicks for Southwestern at the top of the box, a ball to a free striker at the 6 yard box that wasn't called offside, but maybe should have been, but the striker sent it wide after the GK rushed at him, and a free kick with 3 seconds on the clock - but Trinity survives to win the regular season SAA title and maybe push them into and beyond the protected NPI slots