NASHVILLE — At halftime on Saturday afternoon, the Trevecca Nazarene University men's soccer team faced a deficit for the first time in the 2026 season. A goal late in the opening half from Thomas More University put the Trojans behind 2-1 at the break, but there are times when an intermission is just what the doctor ordered.
Saturday was one of those times for the Trojans.
Trevecca (2-0) tallied twice in the final 45 minutes, and they held the Saints (1-1) off the sheet in the second half, as the Trojans rallied for a 3-2 win to complete a sweep of the opening weekend of their season.
THE SERIES
The victory is the first for the Trojans in the all-time series against TMU, which now stands at 1-1-1. Trevecca is unbeaten against the Saints in Nashville, as the teams played a goalless draw in the Music City in 2023.
THE MATCH
Thomas More opened the scoring early in the match. The Saints played a long ball down the left wing that was corralled by Luis Viegas. Viegas played the ball into the middle of the box, and Anwar Benkandil put the ball into the net to give the Saints the 1-0 lead.
TMU was pressing forward in the 17th minute, looking to double their lead, when the Trojans mounted a quick counter. Judah Jones tore up the right wing side and just after he crossed the midfield stripe, he led a beautiful pass into the middle for Chris Douglas who took the 1-on-1 opportunity against TNU keeper Tim Tempel and buried the shot for his second tally of the season to tie the match at 1-1.
As the half wound down, TMU found a second goal. The Saints started up the right side, and a cross from the win in the 38th minute rattled around until it found the foot of Nis Waltemonde who tallied the goal that gave TMU the 2-1 lead they would take into the half.
Early in the second half, Trevecca drew level off of a set piece chance. A foul that also came with a yellow card to TMU led to a free kick for Haden Brown on the offensive right wing side in front of the Trojans' bench. Brown sent it into the mixer with his left foot, and Daniel Shiel rose up above the crowd to win the header, and it found the net on the left side to knot the score at 2-2.
In the 69th minute, Trevecca broke through again. Levi Jones sent a ball in from the left wing side that hit the crossbar. The ball stayed in possession of the Trojans deep in the TMU end of the field, and after a cross into the area was chested down by Zion Jones, Manuel Alonso gathered in the loose ball and chipped a shot into the upper 90 on the right post for the go-ahead goal.
Trevecca kept the pressure up in the final 20 minutes, as Trevecca took five of the match's final seven shots, including two more that hit the Crossbar from Zion Jones. TMU did not record a shot on goal in the final half-hour, and Trevecca took the win, 3-2.
GOALKEEPERS:
Trevecca - Hunter Walker (W; 2-0-0) - 90 Minutes Played, 2 GA, 3 SV
Thomas More - Tim Tempel (L; 1-1-0) - 90 Minutes Played, 3 GA, 4 SV
SCORING:
7:48 - TMU: Anwar Benkandil (2. Luis Viegas)
16:08 - TNU: Chris Douglas (2, Judah Jones)
37:27 - TMU: Nils Waltemonde (1, Luca Mammi)
47:57 - TNU: Daniel Shiel (1, Haden Brown)
68:42 - TNU: Manuel Alonso (1, Unassisted)
UP NEXT
Trevecca will hit the road for the first time on Wednesday afternoon when they head to northeastern Tennessee. Trevecca will battle Carson Newman University (1-0-1). Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Central Time in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
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