After defeating the No. 10 Whitworth University Pirates in the first round of the NCAA Championships, the No. 20 University of Redlands men's soccer team faced off against the No. 2 Trinity University Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Paul McGinlay Stadium in San Antonio, TX. Despite putting together a high-quality second half that featured many scoring opportunities, the Bulldogs struggled to find the back of the net, which allowed a first-half Tiger goal to stand for the difficult, season-ending loss.

Bulldog shots came at a premium in the first half, with sophomore midfielder Sergio Valencia (San Jose, CA), sophomore forward Chase Boone (Beaverton, OR), and sophomore defender Keoni Yates (Kailua-Kona, HI) each notching one in the first 12 minutes of action.

Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Haskill (Lakewood, CA) kept the Bulldogs in the game by making two very nice saves in back-to-back fashion during the 23rd minute. He also tallied two stops in the opening eight minutes of play to keep Trinity off the board.

The Tigers maintained most of the possession in the first half, eventually leading to a score in the 35th minute by Ryan Hunter.

Mirroring their first-round play, the Bulldogs came out hungry in the second half. Junior midfielder Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV) and freshman forward Kayvon Parsa (West Hills, CA) put the pressure on the Tigers by firing off a shot each within the first four minutes of the second frame.

The Bulldog defensive unit did a fantastic job of working to keep the ball away from Trinity, with diligent work coming from senior defender Peter Marsden (Woodside, CA), junior defender Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA), freshman defender Spencer Scott (Portland, OR), freshman midfielder Arman Moghaeri (Danville, CA), and freshman midfielder Jesus Avalos (La Quinta, CA).

More opportunities began to shape for the Bulldogs as the clock wound down. Sophomore midfielder Casey ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) missed a header by inches, while sophomore forward Alexander Knox (Kirkland, WA) mimicked ChubbFertal's header two minutes later, but to no avail.

In the final few minutes, the Bulldogs had multiple chances on their offensive third, including a one final corner kick, which was taken by Valencia. He hit the set piece and found Marsden for the final shot attempt, but it flew high and out of bounds.

After strapping on the Maroon and Gray for the final time in their careers, Elsea and Marsden expressed their thoughts on this cherished program and what it meant for them to represent Redlands soccer during their tenure.

"Redlands has been a great experience for me. I know I was coming to a championship team. It was an honor to play for them," expressed Elsea.

"It's been everything to me," said Marsden with a full heart. "The soccer team is my family and they show great support on and off the field. The coaches are always there for you as well."

Head Coach Ralph Perez shared his thoughts on the outstanding season.

"The first thing I said to the players after the game is 'We're back'," said Perez. "We won the regular-season championship, we won the postseason [tournament] – which is very difficult to do. We haven't done that in some time. It was a great year for the Bulldogs."

After reaching the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in his Redlands tenure, Perez holds high expectations for his young squad in the upcoming years

"The future is bright. We learned a lot about ourselves here in San Antonio, because we've had a three-year absence in the NCAAs, and I've always believed a game like this makes you stronger, makes you hungry to want to get better and get back into this competition again."

With the loss, Redlands wraps up its stellar and memorable season with a 17-4-1 overall record while making it to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.