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The #12 Aquinas women's soccer team has advanced to the NAIA National Tournament final site and will play #19 Oregon Tech in the first round on Tuesday (Nov. 30), with kick-off scheduled for 5:00 PM. The Saints have been reseeded as the #7 seed out of the 10 teams left as the Owls are the #10 seed. The two teams will battle at the final site in Orange Beach, Alabama at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. On top of advancing to the final site for the first time in program history, AQ now has a 4-3 record all-time in the tournament.

The last time on the pitch on Saturday (Nov. 20), the Saints took down the #7 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats in the Marion bracket championship. As the #2 seed at the opening round site, Aquinas defeated the host and #1 seed of the four-team bracket by a 2-0 score. Hannah Crum has now scored four game-winning goals on the season after putting away her 16th goal this year early in the first half. Crum gathered a loose ball five yards outside of the box on the left side and sent a laser over the goalkeeper's head in the top right corner of the net in the fifth minute. The Saints kept the powerful Wildcat offense at bay, only allowing three total shots in the first half. AQ was able to extend the lead out to two in the 47th minute right after halftime with Ariana Garcia scoring the goal. Garcia netted her eighth goal of the season after forcing a turnover deep in the offensive zone and beating the goalkeeper to her right side. The defense faced more urgency from Indiana Wesleyan in the second half, but were able to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the 10th shutout this season. Braeleigh McCoy continued to look strong coming back from injury as she collected five saves in the win.

Aquinas has scored 83 goals this season which is good for 3.61 goals per game, while holding opponents 14 total goals and 0.61 goals per game. The Saints have been outshooting their opponents 23.8-6.7 per game this season and also hold advantages in assists (62-7) and corner kicks (173-50). AQ is taking a 17-game unbeaten streak and 11-game winning streak into the final site. The Saints have also been good in the close games, going 9-0 in games that are decided by one goal.

The #19 Oregon Tech Owls, who are from Klamath Falls, Oregon, traveled down to Bartellsville, Oklahoma for the opening round site. As the #2 seed in the bracket, OIT defeated the #3 seeded Oklahoma University of Science & Arts Drovers by a 4-1 score. Just like AQ, the Owls turned around and pulled an upset over the #1 seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles to advance to the final site. The game ended in a 0-0 tie after 110 minutes of play as Oregon Tech advanced after defeating #10 Oklahoma Wesleyan in the shootout 4-3.

Oregon Tech is currently 18-2-1 on the season and ended its conference regular season with an 11-1-0 record to win the regular season title. The Owls doubled down, winning the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship. OIT has scored 50 goals offensively this season and its defense has been stifling by only giving up eight goals in 21 games. 

The Owls are led by Alyx Burkhartzmeyer, who was the 2021 CCC Defender of the Year in net. Burkhartzmeyer has only allowed seven goals in 1,597 minutes of play, good for a 0.39 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage, while making 62 saves and collecting nine shutouts on the season. Offensively, OIT's leading goal scorer is Mehana Ortiz who has 10 on the season with Nyah Kendall (9) and Kiah Wetzell (8) also contributing. Oregon Tech's head coach is Casey Tate, who was the 2021 CCC Coach of the Year and has a 30-3-2 record in two seasons at the helm.