Trailing by a pair of goals in the second half, the Trine University men's soccer team cut the deficit in half late in the period, but could not net the equalizer before time expired, resulting in a 3-2 loss against Manchester University in non-conference action at Weaver Field in Angola, Ind.

Both of Trine's (3-3) goals came via a penalty kick that included the first score of the game at the 13:20 minute mark off the foot of senior Trevor Towghi (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) that gave the Thunder an early 1-0 advantage.

Manchester (3-5-1) then rattled off three unanswered goals that spanned into the second period, but began with a game-tying goal during the 27th minute and led to a 1-1 stalemate at the half.

The Spartans quickly moved ahead on the scoreboard with a marker just over three-and-a-half minutes into the second half that made it a 2-1 contest. Manchester tacked on another goal later in the period during the 68th minute that put the Spartans out ahead by a two-goal margin, 3-1.

Trine would make things interesting down the stretch as a late penalty in the opponents goal box set up another penalty kick opportunity, the third total "PK" attempt for the Thunder on the afternoon. This time, it was senior Nooh Aljabaly (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater) who got the shot past the Manchester netminder to narrow the gap to 2-1. The goal marked Aljabaly's team-leading fourth goal of the season.

But time wasn't on the Thunder's side as the last score came with about five minutes remaining in regulation. The penalty kick by Aljabaly ended up being the final shot attempt Trine would get the rest of the way as the Spartans held on to claim the 3-2 victory.

In goal for Trine, sophomore Taylor Medina (Mill Creek, Ind./Rochester) played the entire game and tallied five saves on eight shots faced.

Trine will host Webster (Mo.) University on Saturday, Sept. 28 in a non-conference matchup at Weaver Field. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.