SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2025

NO. 2 TEXAS LUTHERAN BULLDOGS (11-4-3) vs. NO. 1 COLORADO COLLEGE (12-0-6)

Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | Round Rock, Texas
 

MATCH NOTES » For the second time in program history, Texas Lutheran has advanced to the SCAC Tournament championship and they will face a familiar foe, Colorado College, in a rematch of the 2019 SCAC Championship. The Tigers earned a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs on October 10 in Colorado Springs with Rex Karijan and Teddy Opler scoring goals for the Tigers. Texas Lutheran won its lone previous appearance in the championship 3-1 over Colorado College in San Antonio. Despite making the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, Colorado College is making its first appearance in the SCAC final since 2019 as well and hold an 0-4 all-time record in the SCAC Championship game. Both teams will need to win the SCAC Tournament to make it to the national stage of the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers sit near the presumptive cut line of getting an at-large big.

REGULAR SEASON REWIND » Going 10-4-3 in the regular season, Texas Lutheran spent a majority of the season in first place in the SCAC to earn a first round bye and end the four-year drought of missing the SCAC Tournament. The Bulldogs reached double-digit regular season wins for the sixth time under head coach Eddie Salazar. The Bulldogs offense was powered by freshman Jesus Carrillo (San Antonio/Reagan) (five goals, 14 points) and sophomore Evan Pacheco (four goals, 13 points), while the Bulldogs patented defense shined with eight clean sheets on the year. Finishing second in the SCAC regular-season standings, the Bulldogs were particularly dominant at home with a 7-1-1 record, recording its most home victories in a regular season since 2021.

THE SALAZAR ERA » Head coach Eddie Salazar will be the only coach in the 2025 SCAC Tournament with a SCAC Championship to his name as he led the Bulldogs to a tournament championship in 2019. His teams are 162-154-35 (.510) in his 20 seasons at the helm. Salazar's 162 victories rank tenth in SCAC history by win total.

LAST TIME OUT » No. 2 seed Texas Lutheran scored two unanswered goals in the second half for a 2-0 victory over No. 6 seed LeTourneau on Friday night. Junior captain Carson Alldredge (Spring/Klein) netted the game winner while Jesus Carrillo scored a late goal for his team leading sixth of the season. Diego Sanchez (Humble/Atascocita) assisted Alldredge's game winner on a corner kick, while Ernesto Avila (Houston/Humble) made six saves between the posts. Texas Lutheran tallied 20 shots to LeTourneau's 11 attacks, and held a lopsided 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.

THE POWER OF TWO » The Bulldogs are known for their defense but have been stellar under Eddie Salazar when scoring multiple goals in a game, holding a record of 45-5-4 (.870) under Salazar in such matches since 2020. This season, the Bulldogs are 8-0-1 in games with multiple goals, with the lone non-victory a 2-2 draw at Austin College. Texas Lutheran's last loss while scoring at least twice came on October 11, 2024, a 3-2 road defeat at No. 23 Trinity.

SPREADING THE WEALTH » TLU has had a balanced approach on offense this season, with 12 different goal scorers and 17 total Bulldogs contributing to the scoresheet. Jesus Carrillo leads the Bulldogs with six goals, followed by Evan Pacheco and Raymond Palmer (San Antonio/Clark) with four goals each and Evan Bremauntz (Grapevine/Colleyville Heritage) with three. Pacheco and freshman Max Guzman (San Marcos/San Marcos) have been Texas Lutheran's leading distributors with five assists each. Texas Lutheran finished last season with 16 players recording at least one point, including six who scored multiple goals and 13 with multiple points. Current TLU assistant Louis Hart and Erick Lopez paced last year's group with nine points.

GAME OF OPPORTUNITIES » A key part of Texas Lutheran's success in 2025 has been the ability to maintain the edge on both sides of the ball during the regular season. On the attacking end, the Bulldogs have generated 14.1 shots per game and 6.82 shots on goal per game, both ranking fifth in the SCAC. Defensively, TLU's stout backline has recorded nine shutouts and allowed 161 shots this season. Texas Lutheran ranked 14th nationally in save percentage (.836), while individually Ernesto Avila ranked 13th nationally with eight clean sheets entering the weekend.

TEAM STATISTICAL SUCCESS » Texas Lutheran has outpaced its opponents in every statistical category so far this season, holding an advantage in goals (30-12), shots (259-172), shots on goal (128-79), shots per game (14.4-9.6), assists (28-8), and corner kicks (119-46). 

FRESH FACES » Texas Lutheran's newcomer class as a whole has made a substantial impact on the Bulldogs' success, with five freshmen finding the scoresheet this season. Jesus Carrillo leads the group and team with six goals, while Max Guzman also added two goals. Meanwhile, Guzman paces the entire team with five assists. Five freshmen have logged over 500 minutes this season.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS » A perennial postseason threat, Colorado College enters the championship with a 12-0-6 record under 11th-year head coach Scott Palguta and has the program in contention for their 23rd postseason appearance. SCAC Newcomer of the Year, Ewen Robertson, and SCAC Offensive Player of the Year, Teddy Opler, lead the Tigers with 14 goals each. Rex Karijan, the SCAC Defensive Player, has complimented the Tiger offense with a SCAC-leading 11 assists on the season, while Alex Wolter has had 11 shutouts with 45 saves in 17 starts.

NOW AND LATER » No. 2 seed TLU is set to play in the championship of the SCAC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament against No. 1 seed Colorado College on Sunday, November 9. The match will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT, on FloCollege. The team that wins the match will earn the SCAC's auto-bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.