Men’s soccer falls to Trinity in national tournament

After winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game for the first time in Panther history, the men’s soccer team advanced to the national tournament in San Antonio, Texas. The team lost to Trinity University 3-0 Nov. 10

Last Saturday, Tobi Howe played alongside his older brother Kai Howe for one last time. The brothers played soccer together in high school too, but lost in the finals of their league tournament in Tokyo, Japan.

It wasn’t until they lost in the national tournament while playing for Chapman Nov. 10 that Kai Howe realized he hadn’t fully appreciated playing alongside his brother.

“Now that it’s all done it was definitely a lot of fun,” Kai Howe said.

Chapman ended its season Nov. 10 with a 3-0 loss against Trinity University.

The team didn’t expect to get a lot of shots on the experienced Trinity defense, Tobi Howe said, and prior to the playoffs, he said the team needed to convert every scoring opportunity they had into a goal.

Chapman took 15 shots during the game, none of which ended up in the net. Kai Howe said the score doesn’t reflect the effort put in by the team, but he was still disappointed.

One of the team’s hopes for this season was to stay focused for all 90 minutes of the game, Tobi Howe said. Chapman was nervous to play Trinity, which is a nationally ranked team, Kai Howe said.

To keep up with the more experienced Division III teams, Tobi Howe said Chapman needs to up its physicality.

“(Trinity was) so much bigger than us and stronger than us and had the ability to push people off the ball and hold on to it,” Tobi Howe said.

When the game finished, Tobi Howe said it hit him that it was his last game with his brother.

“You can see by how many game-winning goals (Kai Howe) had this season, he showed up and he scored for us,” Tobi Howe said. “I want to become that player. I want to be the one that the team feels like they can rely on.”

Tobi Howe, who scored an early goal in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship game against Occidental College Nov. 1, secured a 1-0 win for Chapman and advanced the team to the national tournament.

“There was also a lot of pride in what we’ve accomplished this year together,” Tobi Howe said. “We won the SCIAC championship. That’s something I’m really proud to accomplish, especially with my brother.”