By Evan Doan, Sports Editor
Emmanuel Bedolla dribbles past defender – Photo by Aquinas Athletics
Aquinas hosted a trio of conference matchups over homecoming day. The ninth ranked Women’s volleyball looked to extend their win streak to 15 against Rochester Christian. The men’s and women’s soccer teams hosted Cleary to begin their conference play.
Men’s soccer kicked the action off with their noon matchup against Cleary. They looked to bounce back after a tough 2-1 loss to Spring Arbor (MI) on Wednesday Sept 16.
Cleary pushed the pace early, outshooting the Saints 10-5 in the first half. Junior goalkeeper Dario Cela was able to turn aside six attempts, but Cleary would sneak one past in the thirty-first minute to carry a 1-0 lead into half.
The second half was all Saints. It was a physical half which saw eight yellow cards and three ejections in the half alone. The Saints found the equalizer early into the half when a long ball was played into the box. Bodies swarmed the ball until freshman Marcos Real was able to put the ball away to tie the match in the fifty-first minute.
A rough collision late in the seventy-eighth minute resulted in multiple red cards. Aquinas was to play the rest of the game with ten players while Cleary was forced to play with nine.
Aquinas kept pushing for the go ahead goal throughout the half and in the eighty-third minute their hard work paid off. A Cleary foul at the edge of the box gave Aquinas a penalty kick.
“Honestly it was a lot of emotion in that moment,” said senior Fikret Hasovic. “I knew how important that penalty was for the team, but I didn’t feel any pressure because I knew I was going to score.”
After a brief delay and more yellow cards, Hasovic found the bottom left corner of the goal to seal the first Aquinas victory of the day.
“Now we have to build off that result and carry confidence into the rest of conference play,” said Hasovic. “I believe if we just start games stronger we will be a lot more dangerous this season and cause a lot more problems for teams.”
Men’s soccer will look to start strong against Rochester Christian on Wednesday Sept. 23 for their second WHAC matchup. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
It was business as usual at Coach Bo Court as ninth ranked women’s volleyball extended their win streak to 15 after an impressive win over Rochester Christian.
The Saints dominated set one behind 12 kills winning the set 25-11. The Saints put the set out of reach with six straight points; three aces from senior Cece Pelak and kills and a block from sophomore Kate Schneider and junior Jayla Martin.
The Warriors would battle back from down 8-0 and take set two in extras, 29-27, before Aquinas would slam the door.
The Saints would go on another run in the third set. This time behind multiple kills from Schneider, she would finish with six, and the Saints would take set three 25-11.
Set four started with seven Aquinas points and they would not look back taking the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
Cece Pelak led the Saint attack with 12 kills while Jayla Martin and sophomore Nevaeh Bakker each had nine, Martin stuffed the Warrior attack with seven blocks, sophomore Natalie West had 36 assists and five aces and senior Kami Morse anchored the back line with 15 digs.
The Saints now sit at 18-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference play and have only lost two sets in conference play. They will look to make it 16 in a row on Sept. 23 against Olivet at Sturrus.
The women’s soccer team rounded out the homecoming festivities with their 3 p.m. matchup vs Cleary. They looked to make it two in a row after a 2-1 Wednesday night road victory at IU-Northwest.
The Saints would strike early into the match when junior Julia Grzadkowska would take advantage of an errant Cleary pass two minutes into the game.
Julia Grzadkowska celebrates a goal against Cleary – Photo by Aquinas Athletics
Two minutes later junior Reegyn Cady would find sophomore Bella Teelander just inside the box. Teelander would finish it to the back post to double the early Aquinas lead.
In the fourteenth minute a Cleary foul inside the box would give Aquinas a penalty kick. Senior Aubrey Phenicie would step in to take the kick and pushed the lead to 3-0.
In the twenty-first minute senior Maeve Comfort would shake a Cleary defender and send a long cross into the box. Reegyn Cady was able to get a foot on the ball and find the back of the net to give Aquinas a commanding 4-0 lead.
Cleary would mount a comeback in the second half, but the Saint lead proved too much as the match closed at 4-3 Aquinas securing the homecoming sweep.
The back to back wins would see women’s soccer receive votes in this week’s NAIA national poll as they look to continue their strong form at home on Wednesday Sept. 23 against Rochester Christian. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
