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2026 MSOC Team Photo

2026 Men's Soccer Season Preview

| By: Chris Kendrick
HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Men's Soccer team will look to continue its progress in 2026, under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Methembe Ndlovu. The Bantams will open their 2026 campaign against Tufts University on Saturday, September 5 at 7 p.m. in Medford, Mass.
 
Bantam Bytes
  • Last season, Trinity logged a 3-9-3 record with a 0-7-3 mark in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play. The Bantams earned victories over Framingham State, Saint Joseph and Eastern Connecticut State while battling Bates and Connecticut College to draws.
  • Trinity ranked sixth in the NESCAC in shots (212) and seventh in corner kicks (85) during the 2025 season. The Bantams averaged 14.1 shots and 1.20 goals per game while allowing 1.60 goals per contest and recording 48 saves. Trinity also registered 91 shots on goal and 19 assists.
  • Senior captain Jack Murphy returns for his fourth season with the Bantams after earning Second Team All-NESCAC honors in 2025. Murphy started all 15 games at midfield, logged a team-high 1,292 minutes and recorded six points on two goals and two assists. He scored twice, including the game-winning goal, in Trinity's 4-0 season-opening victory at Framingham State and added assists against Eastern Connecticut State and Western New England. Murphy was also named to the NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference Team and earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District recognition.
  • Senior Shane Ivey returns for his fourth season after appearing in all 15 games and making nine starts in 2025. Ivey recorded six points on three goals and fired 22 shots, including 12 on goal. He scored against Saint Joseph, Eastern Connecticut State and Western New England, including the game-tying goal against Western New England.
  • Junior Trevor Saruwaka returns after a productive first-year campaign in which he ranked second on the team with eight points. Saruwaka scored three goals and added two assists while leading the Bantams with 27 shots and recording seven shots on goal. He scored against Eastern Connecticut State, Tufts and Wesleyan.
  • Junior Dieder Wagner returns after starting all 15 games in the midfield last season. Wagner logged 1,273 minutes, second on the team behind Murphy, and scored his first collegiate goal in the season-opening victory at Framingham State. He played all 90 minutes in 10 games and was named to the NESCAC Fall All-Sportsmanship Team.
  • Sophomore Silas Lawrence returns after contributing five points during his first collegiate season. Lawrence appeared in 10 games, including two starts, and recorded one goal and three assists. He scored against Williams and provided assists against Bates, Eastern Connecticut State and Wesleyan.
  • Sophomore Dillon Reilly returns after appearing in 15 games, including four starts, during his first season. Reilly recorded three points on one goal and one assist while firing 20 shots. His six shots against Western New England represented the highest single-game shot total by a Bantam in 2025.
  • Junior Matthew McLeod comes to the Bantam defensive unit after transferring to Trinity from Bucknell after two seasons with the Bison. McLeod joins senior Owen Myers and senior Sam Duncanson as Trinity returns experience to the back line.
  • Senior Sam Singer returns for his fourth season after appearing in seven games in 2025 and recording one assist. Singer has appeared in 27 games during his Trinity career and provides veteran depth to the Bantam attack.
  • Junior Sebastian Miller returns after appearing in seven games last season. Miller was also one of Trinity's 11 NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference selections in men's soccer in 2025.
  • The Bantams will need to replace several key contributors from last year's squad, including leading scorer Kieran McCabe, who finished the 2025 season with three goals, three assists and a team-high nine points. Trinity will also replace goalkeeper Nate Dyott, who started all 15 games and logged 1,257 minutes while recording 36 saves.
  • McCabe's departure leaves Saruwaka and Ivey as Trinity's top returning goal scorers, with three goals apiece in 2025. Murphy returns as the team's leading returning point producer with six points, followed by Saruwaka with five points in the official team statistics.
  • Trinity's returning student-athletes bring a strong record of academic achievement. Eleven Bantams earned NESCAC Fall Academic All-Conference recognition in 2025, including returning players Ryan Carey, Chris Connelly, Sebastian Miller, Jack Murphy, Owen Myers, Felix Schmidt, Sam Singer, Collin Spiro, Ian Spiro and Dieder Wagner. Murphy was additionally named a CSC Academic All-District selection.
  • The Bantams return 30 players to the 2026 roster, including seven seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and nine first-years.
  • The 2026 first-year class includes goalkeeper Julian Gebhardt, midfielders Sebastian Martinez-Moule and Cameron Linehan, forwards Charles Desautels and Wallace Lawrence, and defenders Andrew Lyon and Marco Bannon, along with goalkeeper Jake Davis.
  • In goal, sophomore Jackson Leach returns after making his collegiate debut in 2025. Leach appeared for 14 minutes and recorded one save without allowing a goal. Junior Gianluca Balzano, along with first-years Gebhardt and Davis, will provide additional options following the departure of Dyott.
  • Head Coach Methembe Ndlovu enters his fifth season at the helm of the Trinity program in 2026. Ndlovu is joined by assistant coach Austin Farwell.
  • The Bantams will play 15 regular-season games in 2026, including 9 NESCAC contests. Trinity will face Tufts, Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colby, Bates, Connecticut College, Bowdoin, Middlebury and Amherst in conference play.
 
Schedule
  • Saturday, September 5: at Tufts University (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 34-29-6
    • Last Meeting: L, 2-1
  • Sunday, September 6: vs. University of Hartford (5:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 13-12-1
    • Last Meeting: L, 1-0
  • Wednesday, September 9: at University of Saint Joseph (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 1-1
    • Last Meeting: W, 2-0
  • Saturday, September 12: vs. Williams College (3:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 11-49-3
    • Last Meeting: L, 4-1
  • Saturday, September 19: vs. Hamilton College (2:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 0-6-1
    • Last Meeting: L, 1-0
  • Sunday, September 20: vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (4:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 21-10-4
    • Last Meeting: L, 4-2 (1993)
  • Tuesday, September 22: vs. Framingham State University (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 3-1
    • Last Meeting: W, 4-0
  • Saturday, September 26: at Colby College (2:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 4-9-3
    • Last Meeting: T, 1-1
  • Wednesday, September 30: vs. Eastern Connecticut State (6:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 22-8-1
    • Last Meeting: W, 3-0
  • Saturday, October 3: at Bates College (2:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 9-11-1
    • Last Meeting: T, 1-1
  • Tuesday, October 6: at Connecticut College (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 18-23-3
    • Last Meeting: T, 2-2
  • Saturday, October 10: vs. Bowdoin College (2:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 6-25-1
    • Last Meeting: L, 3-0
  • Saturday, October 17: at Middlebury College (12:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 5-22-5
    • Last Meeting: L, 1-0
  • Tuesday, October 20: vs. Wesleyan University (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 27-45-8
    • Last Meeting: L, 4-1
  • Tuesday, October 27: at Amherst College (7:00 PM)
    • All-Time Record: 11-61-4
    • Last Meeting: L, 1-0
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