GEORGETOWN, Texas - A goal less than two minutes into the match was all the Tigers got and needed as Southwestern fell 1-0 to #7 Trinity University in the SCAC Championship match on Sunday afternoon.
Just moments into the game it was clear that Trinity was seeking revenge from the earlier season loss as they had back to back corners in the first minute and a half, spelling certain doom for the Pirates. It took just thirty seconds more as the Tigers' Yuri Rubiero sent a lofting cross into the box from right of goal and found Simon Uribe on the far post who headed it home in just the second minute to give TU a very early 1-0 lead.
Southwestern seemed to have the response as Timothy Eamma played the ball forward to Michael Oliveras streaking toward goal. Oliveras took a left footed shot that was out of Matt Cardone's reach in goal but careened off the right post.
Trinity looked poised to go up by two goals after they were awarded a penalty kick after Jonny Lawson was tackled in the box. Victor Araujo addressed the ball and sent a hard shot to the lower right corner of Daniel Poole in goal. Poole made an outstanding save, diving to his right and punching the ball out of bounds and harm's way to keep SU within one goal.
Poole was remarkable the entire half, recording one huge save after another, including a one-on-one breakaway by Lawson, to keep SU in the game. The Pirates weren't without their scoring opportunities, but their shots either sailed just off the mark or were blocked by the Tiger defense to keep the Pirates off the board.
The second half got underway just as the first had ended with a big save by Poole followed by a strong counter attack by the Pirates that saw Steven Resnik's shot go just off frame in the 51st minute.
In the 54th minute Trinity narrowly made it a 2-0 advantage once again when Brian Hines took advantage of a miss played ball by the SU defense, drawing Poole out of goal. Hines played the ball past Poole but it found the left post and bounced back out into the field of play, allowing the Pirates to regroup.
With Trinity playing a man down after Hines received his second yellow card, David Arellano nearly made it an even game with a header to the left post, but Cardone made the diving save keeping the Tiger's lead intact.
Southwestern pressed on but was unable to push one through as time expired, giving Trinity the SCAC title.
Deservedly so, Poole was selected as the SCAC Tournament Defensive MVP, ending the game with seven saves, 13 for the tournament.
The Pirates end the season at 14-7-1 on the year and will learn their fate for an NCAA At-large bid on Monday as the NCAA selection show airs on NCAA.com at 1 p.m.