Email coach
Paul McGinlay
Paul McGinlay will enter his 34th year as the head coach of the Trinity Tigers men’s soccer team during the 2024 season.
Coach McGinlay is one of the most successful men’s soccer coaches in the NCAA. Since his appointment in 1991 to the Trinity staff, Coach McGinlay has amassed a record of 540-92-37 (.834). He is ranked second in winning percentage among all-time NCAA Division III coaches and third in the category of active Division III coaches, as well as holding a eighth-place ranking by victories of DIII coaches. Coach McGinlay holds a fifth-place ranking in winning percentage of coaches in all of the NCAA Divisions.
He guided the Tigers to the 2003 NCAA Division III National Championship, as Trinity finished the season with a perfect 24-0-0 record. It marked the first NCAA Soccer Championship - for any division - in the state of Texas. The championship team was inducted into the Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Coach McGinlay’s 2007 squad was the national runner-up.
In the 2022 fall season, Paul led the Tigers to an SCAC Championship appearance, where they would fall to Colorado College. Despite this, Tiger Mens Soccer claimed numerous awards. Adam Knutson was named SCAC Newcomer of the Year, along with eight other Tigers gaining All-SCAC accolades. JonConnor Rule and Joseph Kuri were named United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams.
Coach McGinlay led the Tigers to a 16-1-2 record in the 2021 Fall season. The Tigers went undefeated during the regular season but fell to St. Thomas in the SCAC Championship. Despite the loss, the Tigers earned the automatic qualifier bid and went on to make the NCAA Playoffs. Trinity took on Pacific Lutheran on the road as the number one seed. TU ultimately tied the match and lost on penalty kicks to conclude the season.
Nine Tigers earned All-SCAC honors; Jacob Galan and Fraser Burns earned United Soccer Coaches All-American accolades. Brady Johnston, Michael Meese, Galan, and Fraser were all selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region team and earned All-American status. Meese and Johnston were named to the D3Soccer.com All-American team while Galan earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
The Tigers competed in an abbreviated season in the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic. Trinity finished the regular season as conference champions before falling in heartbreaking fashion as the top-seed in the semifinals of the conference championships. The Tigers completed the shortened season with a record of 6-1-1.
Trinity completed the 2019 season with a 12-7-2 overall record. In the course of the season, Coach McGinlay garnered his 500th career victory. He became the ninth Division III coach to reach the 500 wins milestone, and the 16th men’s soccer coach in any NCAA Division to achieve the plateau.
Coach McGinlay is also the fastest in NCAA history to reach 500 victories, achieving the feat in his 29th season with the program, and in his 614th career matchup.
Trinity hosted the 2019 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament and opened with a 1-0 victory over the University of Dallas (TX). Texas Lutheran University beat the Tigers 2-0 in the Semifinals.
Trinity received an at-large bid to its 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament and hosted the first two rounds. The Tigers claimed a 3-1 decision over 23rd-ranked University of Texas-Dallas, and then lost 2-0 to #13 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CA) Colleges.
The 2018 Tiger team earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, marking the program’s 17th appearance in a row, the longest active streak in DIII soccer. Trinity hosted the first two rounds of its 22nd overall postseason event and defeated Chapman (CA) University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX). The Tigers traveled to Chicago, Illinois, for a sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in the last seven years. The third-ranked host University of Chicago (IL) ended Trinity’s season in the third round. The Tigers completed the campaign with a 17-2-3 record and a #8 national ranking by D3soccer.com.
Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Trinity captured its seventh consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference trophy and the 21st overall. The Tigers outfought host Southwestern (TX) University in Georgetown, Texas, winning 4-2 in penalty kicks of the double-overtime matchup.
Coach McGinlay and his assistant coaches were elected the 2018 NCAA Division III West Region Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches. Coach McGinlay has been elected SCAC Coach of the Year 14 times and has also been tabbed as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA, now United Soccer Coaches) Regional Coach of the Year.
The Tigers have entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in the nation seven times. Trinity has advanced to the NCAA Semifinals three times and to the Quarterfinals on 10 occasions.
Thirty-eight players have earned All-America honors during Coach McGinlay’s tenure. Fourteen players have received Academic All-America kudos, and four have garnered NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. Fourty Tigers have been elected either SCAC Player of the Year, Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year, or Newcomer of the Year.
Josh Card ‘05 became the fourth Tiger individual men’s soccer player to be inducted into the Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame, at the ceremony held October 5, 2019.
Josh Smith ‘04 was selected as the NSCAA Division III National Player of the Year in 2003 and went on to a professional career. Former Tiger women’s soccer coach and All-American Lance Key ‘00 played for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, while All-America goalkeeper Matt Cardone ‘15 is a member of the United Soccer League franchise team San Antonio FC.
Key was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2015, along with All-America teammate Scott Mury ‘00. Smith was an inductee of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Trinity’s soccer field was renovated and renamed the Paul McGinlay Soccer Field with the dedication in September 2011. The playing surface was enhanced with new turf, and the spectator area was expanded to accommodate 1,500 fans. The Isom Memorial was named after the late Tiger men’s standout, Timothy “Tito” Isom ‘98. The 14-foot red-brick facility is used for game administration, announcing, scorekeeping, video recording, and live streaming by the Tiger Network.
Prior to joining the Trinity staff, Coach McGinlay was an assistant men’s soccer coach at the College of Wooster (OH). He holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” License, and an Advanced Diploma from United Soccer Coaches.
A native of Corby, England, Coach McGinlay earned a degree from the University of London in 1984 in English literature. He is married to the former Whitney Newman, a 1992 Trinity graduate. The couple has a daughter, Claire, and a son, Dylan.
show more