St. Thomas 2026 men's soccer season opens with a trio of home matches over the course of just seven days. Thursday afternoon the Tommies held the Titans down in the first half, before falling after Detroit Mercy scored two second half goals. Sunday afternoon St. Thomas had a much better outing against the Phoenix. A first half goal for the Tommies kept them up for most of the match, but a second half set piece goal for Green Bay stunned the home crowd and forced a draw.
St. Thomas 0 – 2 Detroit Mercy
Opening the season in less than ideal conditions on a rainy afternoon, St. Thomas met Detroit Mercy for the first match of the season. Early on UDM got a chance to score, but sent the shot wide. Much of the first half from the tenth minute saw the two sides trade the ball in the midfield third. St. Thomas got their first real chance with ten minutes left in the half, but missed high.
Coming out of the break it was initially more of the same midfield play, but just past the 60th minute, the UDM Titans finally broke the deadlock. 15 minutes later it appeared St. Thomas might get a huge break after a potential handball in the box, but VAR said no handball after review. One minute later the Titans got a throw in from their defensive third and pushed all the way down pitch in less than a minute to double the lead and secure the win.
St. Thomas 1 – 1 Green Bay
Saturday was not only a much better day for football, but also a much better day for the Tommies as well. In what turned out to be an extremely chippy match, laden with yellow cards it was clear the hosts were the better team on the pitch. Just past the 30 minute mark the Tommies scored their first goal of the season, thanks to a screamer from Oliver Corris. St. Thomas continued to push with a tiki-taka esque style that made the Phoenix struggle. After the first half whistle sounded, Green Bay had not a single shot on target in the half.
However the second half saw the clubs seemingly flip strategies, with St. Thomas holding the ball and killing time with a slow prodding play style. Green Bay came out much faster, trying to get a shot on any and every possible breakout they could manage. 64 minutes in Green Bay had a huge pair of chances, but Tommie goalkeeper Damian Climent made two huge saves to prevent a goal. Just over ten minutes later though Green Bay got on the board. A long throw in from the Phoenix landed inside the six and in the midst of the scrum the visitors popped it in the back of the goal to draw the match level, where the score ended.
Next Week:
St. Thomas vs Chicago State - Thursday, 27 August at 1pm
Coming up next for the Tommies is their third straight home match and a non-conference showdown with the Chicago State Cougars. CSU are currently 0–1 after losing their season opener to Lindenwood and will play their second match on Monday against the Milwaukee Panthers.
Eastern Illinois vs St. Thomas - Sunday, 30 August at 12pm
Following Thursday's home match the Tommies head to Illinois to face the Panthers of Eastern Illinois. EIU are also 0–1, coming off a loss to Omaha in their season opener. Before the Panthers face St. Thomas, EIU will host Wright State on Thursday as part of a men's and women's soccer double header.
