South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn soccer becomes IHSAA contender in just three years

SOUTH BEND – South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn has had soccer programs for a while.

The school was looking to take the next step with its athletics, though, and decided to apply to become an official IHSAA member.

After four years of being a provisional member, Trinity became a full-fledged member of the IHSAA in the 2021-22 school year.

It hasn’t taken long for the school to establish itself as a contender amongst its Class 1A counterparts, as both Titan soccer teams won sectional championships in its first year. After falling short in postseason action in 2022, Trinity girls and boys soccer are both in the mix once again to win postseason hardware this fall.

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“We pray together every day at morning prayer, and when the boys announce they won, it’s a big cheer. And when the girls announce they win, there’s a big cheer,” Trinity boys soccer head coach John Lee said. “It’s creating a fun vibe in the school and contributes positively to the culture.”

Strong starts in its first year of IHSAA competition

Lee was an assistant coach for the program’s first IHSAA season. Under former head coach Carlos Reynolds, the Titans went 9-5-1, defeating Washington Township, 3-0, to win a sectional championship before falling to Illiana Christian in a 1A regional semifinal game.

On the girls’ side, they defeated DeMotte Christian, 2-1, to win its sectional crown before losing to Andrean in the regional semifinals. In its first year as an IHSAA member, the team went 10-7.

It was rewarding for everyone involved who had gone through the provisional years, where Trinity played under IHSAA rules, but weren’t eligible for the postseason.

“It was fabulous,” Lee remarked. “We just had such a blast. The boys and girls, they put in all this hard work. A bunch of them had been on the teams when we were provisional members, so for them to go in and have a good, successful first postseason was a lot of fun.”

For Trinity girls soccer head coach Ryan Milligan, there was a learning curve in the first year of IHSAA play.

“It was the first time we had that many games, so we didn’t want the girls to be worn out by the end of the season. I tried to incorporate rest a little bit more: we were still trying to push them, but not wear them out so that way they still had some gas left in the tank at the end of the season.”

While the Trinity girls went 11-5 last year, they were unable to advance out of sectionals. The boys team had a down year, going 3-8-1 in 2022.

Sustaining success in the 2023 season

Both are on an upswing so far this fall, especially the girls team. After a 5-0 win over Bethany Christian Tuesday, the Titans are now 12-1 on the season. They won its first 10 games before its lone setback of the season against Bremen on Sept. 14.

The Titans offense has been prolific, scoring 75 goals while allowing just eight – four of which came against Bremen. Five players have tallied 10 or more goals for Trinity this season: junior Natalie Gabrielse (14), senior Maggie Karban (13), freshman Audrey Lee (11), freshman Charis Gabrielse (11) and senior Tess Curan (10).

Sophomore Charis Balsbaugh has been the primary goalkeeper for the Titans, stopping 33 of 39 shots she’s faced.

The Titans’ stellar season has earned them the No. 10 ranking in the most recent Class 1A Indiana Soccer Coaches Association polls.

H.S. polls: See where South Bend area teams are ranked

“We take one game and one opponent at a time and try to go 1-0 for every game, but we have fun with the rankings; just posting it on Instagram and things like that,” Milligan said. “We follow it, but we don’t overemphasize it. Every game is a new game and we try to stay focused in the moment.”

On the boys’ side, they lost a heartbreaker in penalty kicks, 0-0 (4-2 PKs) to the No. 4 (1A) Bruins Tuesday night. Even though it was a loss, the Titans are still having a strong season, sporting a record of 9-3-1 with three games left on the regular season schedule.

Trinity has one of the most dynamic scorers in the area in senior Caleb DeLorenzo, who’s tallied 30 goals on the season so far. He’s had some help as well, with freshman Nathan Palmer adding 12 goals and nine assists, and senior Jacob Palmer nine goals and seven assists.

“We’ve gotten good leadership, not just from the two captains (Max Cressy and Caleb DeLorenzo), but all the seniors,” said Lee on the key to success for his team in 2023. “All of those guys have been playing up on the high school team and have gotten a lot of varsity minutes for quite a few years now.”

Trinity only competes in four sports in the fall, but they’re performing well in all of them. Along with the soccer teams, the boys cross country program is in the mix to qualify for regionals, while the lone girls cross country runner – freshman Annika Lute – has made a name for herself by performing well at big meets. All of this has been accomplished with an enrollment of 119 students, which is the sixth smallest among schools that play soccer.

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“All Trinity kids give 110% of their effort all the time, which is incredible to see,” Karban said. “It makes everybody want to play harder, and I think it’s something that our team has that not every team has. Everyone’s going to go to the ball and give everything they have left in the tank. I think that’s why this team is special.”

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn soccer finding unprecedented success