Triumph
Trinity Soccer grew in stature and quality over the coming years. 1966 saw the Tigers pick up their first “three or four games (of probably a dozen or more)” they played that year. What was initially thought to be a disadvantage, the youthful nature of the squad, turned into an advantage for the Tigers as their team was pretty much unchanged as the years went by, though Charlie Wheelus did transfer out after his freshman year, causing somewhat of a reshuffle. The Tigers employed a 5-3-2 formation, as most teams did back then, and progressed in 1967 to the point where they ended their season with a winning record! Anton Odeh had left Trinity and Ray Maxwell from the Communications Department stepped in as team sponsor. He was able to secure the transfer of Ken Cooper from St. Mary’s University to Trinity. Cooper was a talented English forward who became the team’s main goal scorer leading into the 1968 season, which would be the last for the core of the Trinity Soccer team. Ron Pritz was in his senior year and had helped Trinity Soccer grow from a pipedream to a competitive program in the state of Texas. Pritz recalled to me that “The big college soccer event of the year in those days in Texas was the University of Texas Invitational Soccer Tournament. We had played in that tournament in 1966 and 1967. We hadn’t won a match in 1966. We did a bit better in 1967. It tended to be a pretty brutal affair. Over a three day weekend, if you won through, you could play five games in three days!” The Tigers were eager to earn something for their departing seniors and founders and came together at this tournament for one final push towards glory. “In 1968 we beat the University of Texas (remember those guys who beat us 10-1 in 1965!) in the final to win the tournament!” Pritz explained happily. The foundations had been built. The story of success had begun. Trinity Soccer was here to stay.