It’s Friday the 13th! Many could argue that playing on October 13th is unlucky, but the pirates did not let that spook them as they faced head on against the Trinity Tigers.

The Pirates appeared on the field, showing off their neon pink socks, and showing their support to the breast cancer survivors. The weather is 74 degrees – finally cool enough to watch without breaking a sweat. Students and families, wearing pink, filled the stands. Some with their dogs, some with their dinners in hand, and some with cutouts of their friends. Sophomore Isabella Valenzuela and her friends sat in the front row with cutouts of their friend, midfielder #23 sophomore Kayla Moody. “We actually didn’t tell her about it so when she saw us, she gave us a thumbs up so I’m assuming she found it funny,” said Valenzuela. The stands continued to be filled up as the start of the matchup between the Pirates and the Tigers was near. 

As the first half kicked off, the Tigers quickly took possession of the ball. However, the Pirates maintained their defense. Eleven minutes into the first half, Trinity had possession of the ball for 2 minutes. They kicked the ball towards the SU goalie, # 1 Johnna Campbell, twice but Campbell was able to grab the ball and kick it away from her goal. However, the Tigers were able to quickly regain possession and attempt to kick the ball for a goal but missed.

 “I don’t know how else to describe that moment other than luck. When I saw that Trinity almost scored multiple goals, I was scared and thought some of them were actually going to go in,” said sophomore Ashton Ellis.

 Sometime with 20-15 minutes left of the half, Trinity had opportunities to score but they either kicked the ball just outside of goal or Campbell deflected the kick. However, the rest of the first half continued, with both teams fighting to regain possession of the ball and score.The pirates’ defense worked tirelessly to regain control of the game and give the offense more opportunities to score. At halftime, the pirates managed to keep the Tigers at bay, 0-0. 

The second half began, and it went south almost immediately. Trinity gained possession and had the opportunity to score. But the Pirates’ defense managed to kick it away from their goal. Their defense couldn’t hold the Tigers for long though. 6 minutes into the second half, Tiger’s #8 Khan Hanna scored from outside the box. The Pirates quickly responded by gaining possession and almost getting the chance to score. They didn’t, but they reminded the Tigers that they might be down, but not out yet. Seventeen minutes and 9 seconds into the half, SU sophomore Lauren Gradt gets the ball and attempts to score, kicking the ball high towards the goal. But the ball hits the crossbar instead. The Pirates still have the opportunity to score after a hand-ball call, but the ball was kicked too high. Both teams fought to gain possession again and get the chance to score. They got the opportunities to score but they both missed the goal. The Pirates’ defenses started to fall apart when the Tigers scored with 15 minutes and 52 seconds left in the game. They continued to score two more after that. When the game ended, the Pirates held their heads up and shook the Tiger’s hand. 

The team and their coach circled up and discussed what to take away from the game and improve before breaking out. “The girls seem to have great team chemistry and that’s helping them with their season. I know that they had some challenging teams early in the season but they held them pretty well, so hopefully they do well in our conference.” said Valenzuela. Despite their loss against Trinity University, that didn’t stop them from winning their next conference game against Schreiner University. The SU women’s soccer team now has a 2-1-1 conference record.