The #12 Aquinas women's soccer team, the #2 seed in the Marion bracket of the NAIA National Tournament, took down the #3 seed Hope International Royals on Thursday evening (Nov. 18), in Marion, Indiana at the IWU Soccer Field. After both teams scored a goal in the 31st minute of the first half,
Merin McDermott was able to put away the game-winning goal in the second half as AQ took the 2-1 win over HIU to advance to the next round.
Aquinas improves its record to 20-1-1 on the season, which adds on to the program record for most wins in a single season. The Saints have now won an NAIA National Tournament game for the third consecutive season and now have a 3-3 record all-time in the tournament.
Play was pretty even in the first half as AQ recorded eight total shots and HIU was able to get five shots off. The scoreless tie was broken in the 31st minute as
Hannah Crum hustled down a loose ball from a Royal defender and goalkeeper to put away her 15th goal of the season. Crum leads the teams in goals and also has a team-high 41 points on the season. However, it did not take the Royals long to respond by scoring within the same minute. The leading scorer of HIU, Ofelia Sosa Cruz, drove through the AQ defenders to score the equalizing goal. The score remained tied 1-1 heading into halftime.
The Saints turned on the pressure in the second half and were dominant in the ball possession and defending phases of the game. That pressure paid off in the 55th minute as McDermott scored the game winner. Her 10th goal and team-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season came after McDermott moved from the back line to the center forward position.
Ariana Garcia, who leads the team with 13 assists on the season, served a cross right in front of the net as McDermott deflected the ball into the lower left corner. Aquinas continued putting pressure on HIU, so much that the Royals did not attempt a single shot in the final 45 minutes. With that goal and defense, the Saints secured the victory to move on to the next round in the NAIA National Tournament.
Braeleigh McCoy returned from an injury that kept her out nearly the entire season for the Saints. McCoy saw all three of the Hope International's shots on goal in the first half, making the save two out of three times. Siera Pedroza of HIU finished with eight saves, while allowing two goals in the loss.
Aquinas took 20 total shots with half of them being on net as Hope International shot a total of five time with three being on net. AQ attempted four corner kicks compared to the Royals' two, while HIU collected 10 fouls compared to the Saints' 11.
Aquinas now advances to the finals game of the Marion bracket with a trip to the NAIA National Tournament final site in Orange Beach, Alabama on the line. The Saints will face the winner of the #1 seed and host Indiana Wesleyan and the #4 seed Saint Ambrose on Saturday (Nov. 20) back at the IWU Soccer Field at 5:00 PM.
