By Evan Doan, Aquinas Reporter
Men’s Soccer plays at home – Photo by Aquinas Athletics
The Men’s Soccer team collected their first win of the season during their home opener against Taylor University Sept. 13. The Saints trailed going into half after Taylor took the lead off a corner kick 20 minutes into the game, but the Saints would continue to battle with goalkeeper Dario Cela holding Taylor’s attacks at bay with seven saves, a career high. The Saints would eventually manage a couple shots on goal. “We out worked them for sure,” junior Trae Collins said when asked about the Saints first half performance; and that pressure would pay off for the Saints.
Just 90 seconds into the second half a Trae Collins cross would find Evan Goodfellow on the back pipe to even the score at one apiece. “It was a special moment for me,” freshman Evan Goodfellow said. “Going into half down was tough, but we knew we could turn it around with our quality [of play].” Goodfellow was making his debut for Aquinas. “To come out with our first win was the perfect home start we needed for the team,” Goodfellow said.
The Saints would then take the lead from a Joseph Farhat header when a throw-in landed into the box in the 65th minute. This would mark the first time in the 2025 campaign that the Saints would hold the lead and they did not look back. The Saints would continue their pressure and would eventually score again. The final goal came in the 80th minute when captain Fikret Hasovic scored off a penalty shot to make the final score 3-1. “It was mostly just getting used to the environment and … how the games are going to be as all around we have a brand new team,” junior Hasovic said. The Saints will have to look to new faces this year as they graduated their top three point scorers from last season, but the new faces responded well. “In the second half the whole team’s energy was different and everybody wanted to win… I’m excited to see how far and how good we will do this season,” Farhat said.
The Saints have finished their non-conference schedule and although they lost their homecoming weekend match against Madonna, their next opportunity to take a win will be against Cornerstone University on Sept. 24. The Saints will look to build off of this win and return to the WHAC championship game for a third straight year.
Soccer starts their season at Kalamazoo College – Photo by Jackson Hagan Media
The Saint 