NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Manchester defeated Trine 3-1 on Tuesday at Spartan Stadium.
Fola Afolayan scored at 80:26 off
Quentin Taylor's assist to move Manchester from a 1-1 tie to a 2-1 second-half lead.
Afolayan put Manchester in front with the first goal, finishing off an
Edwin Rodriguez assist in the first half. Manchester protected that advantage through a late first-half Trine stretch that included two shots and two corner kicks without conceding. After the match moved to 1-1, Manchester generated four shots and three corner kicks across a 10-minute second-half stretch but did not find the net during that run. Late in regulation, Afolayan scored again off a Taylor assist to give Manchester a 2-1 lead, and Taylor added another goal shortly after to extend it.
Manchester finished with nine shots and four shots on goal, while Trine had 10 shots but put one on frame. Afolayan scored on both of his shots, and Taylor finished with a goal and an assist on his lone shot. Manchester also drew assists from Rodriguez, Taylor and
Jayden Medina while committing 12 fouls to Trine's 14, with each team receiving one yellow card.
Manchester took the first-half lead at 25:26, when Afolayan scored with assists from Rodriguez and Medina to make it 1-0. Earlier, Manchester tested Trine goalkeeper Brandon Walker on
Noah Junchaya's shot at 5:13, added an
Aiden Bryant attempt at 19:32 and earned a corner at 22:52 before breaking through. The half included a physical stretch from 2:52 to 12:12, with the teams combining for fouls and a Manchester yellow card during that span. After the goal, Manchester protected the advantage through Trine pressure that included corners at 30:03, 33:10 and 39:58 and two late shots, carrying a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Manchester broke a 1-1 tie late in the second half, with Afolayan scoring from Taylor at 80:26 before Taylor added another goal 1:31 later for a 3-1 advantage. Earlier, Trine had pulled level in the 50th minute on Ben Borak's goal, and Manchester played through a physical stretch while the score remained 1-1. Manchester then generated sustained pressure from the 66th through 76th minutes, getting shots from
Dustin Medina Estrada, Junchaya,
Ethan Upton and Bryant while earning three corner kicks. Trine managed a late shot and corner after Manchester's two-goal burst, but Manchester finished the half with the 3-1 final score.
Afolayan scored twice on two shots on goal and recorded the game-winning goal. Taylor finished with a goal and an assist for three points. Rodriguez tallied an assist. Medina added an assist.
Manchester moves to 4-4-0 overall.
Up next, Manchester hosts Earlham College on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.
