Saints march through Homecoming

By Grace Malec; Sports Editor

Aquinas Dance Team performs at halftime – Photo by Grace Malec

With a new academic and athletic year upon the Aquinas College community comes the annual tradition of Homecoming. The weekend that welcomes alumni, students, faculty, staff and family to campus hosting several athletic events.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Aquinas hosted home games for Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer and Women’s Volleyball to celebrate and house the homecoming camaraderie.

To start the homecoming events off strong, Women’s Soccer played the Madonna University Crusaders. After a difficult start to the season, the team was able to find ground with a packed homecoming crowd, winning the match 3-0 and starting Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play off on the right foot.

“Homecoming is always one of the best games of the year,” Head Coach Jenna Smith said. “We love all the support and the crowd cheering us on, the energy from everyone on Saturday was special. It felt great to deliver and get the win and start conference play 1-0 and we’re looking to keep it going from here.”

Goalkeeper for the Saints, Kayla Shuk recorded a shutout during the match, making six saves against the Crusaders. “From the locker room, through warmups and during the game, our energy was high which really helped us start off strong and get the lead in the first half,” Shuk said. “I am so proud of my teammates for how hard they worked until the final buzzer and for the support they show each other day in and day out. With such a new team this year it has been awesome to watch each player’s strengths shine and come together to create the new AQ Women’s Soccer.”

Kayla Shuk, goalkeeper for the Saints – Photo by Grace Malec

The Saints found their 3-0 victory through goals from Abigail Kramer, Catherine Hoff and Kiersen Korienek.

With a big game for the Saints also came a big game for the athletes on the team. Junior Madison Slezinski took the field with her team for the first time post-injury, an exciting moment in an homecoming atmosphere. “It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to play coming off an injury, especially on homecoming,” Slezinski said. “I felt so grateful for being able to be back out on the field and it was so much fun. The vibes around homecoming definitely amped our team up, the loud cheers and large amount of support helped keep our energy high.”

The Women’s Volleyball team hosted the Indiana Tech Warriors for a homecoming showdown. The team took the win, with a 3-1 final score. The game was supported by a packed homecoming crowd; with the Saints taking set one 25-19, falling to the Warriors in set two 20-25, then coming back to win set three 26-24 and set four 25-22.

Athletics brings ups and downs, and homecoming delivered exactly that. The Men’s Soccer team fought hard in a match against the Madonna University Crusaders, but fell short; losing the match 0-1. In a cross-town match, the Men’s Rugby team travelled to Davenport University to play the Panthers. After a hard fight, they could not find ground against the Panthers, and lost 61-12.

Wrapping up the homecoming athletics festivities, the Women’s Golf team took the course in Howell as they played in the Cleary University Invitational. The team took their first win, with a team score of 361.