CMS Men's Soccer Falls to No. 13 Trinity

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team saw a 20-game regular season unbeaten streak against Division III opponents snapped as it dropped a 2-0 decision at Trinity on Saturday evening.

CMS moves to 0-1-1 on the young season, while Trinity opens its campaign at 1-0. 

The Stags had not fallen in the regular season to a Division III team since a 1-0 overtime defeat to Chapman in 2019. A year ago, the only regular season loss that CMS suffered came in a 1-0 overtime defeat to Westmont of the NAIA in the season's opening week. Following that setback, CMS went on to defeat Oglethorpe and Cal Lutheran in non-conference games, and then went undefeated in SCIAC play (10-0-2), before falling in the postseason tournament championship to Redlands. 

CMS started off strong, as Liam O'Reilly had a dangerous opportunity saved in just the second minute by Trinity goalie Austin Wilman. Opportunities were limited in the first half for both teams, with Kevin Box called on to make three routine saves in the opening 45 minutes for the Stags. 

The Tigers turned the tables just 1:01 into the second half when Jake Simon was able to convert to put the home team ahead 1-0. Michael Meese would tack on an insurance goal at the 63:46 mark and Trinity was able to hold the fort the rest of the way. Justin Blachman, who scored a late equalizer in the opener at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday (a 1-1 tie), tried to give CMS some life with a late opportunity, but his shot missed wide right. 

Box had nine saves in goal for the Stags, putting up a strong performance to keep CMS in striking distance most of the way, but the Trinity defense proved tough to break down as the Tigers opened the year with a shutout. 

CMS will be back in action on Monday for the second game of its Texas trip, taking on Southwestern in an 11 a.m. contest (9 a.m. Pacific).