The Aquinas women's soccer team put together an impressive showing on Friday afternoon (Feb. 26) at the Legacy Center in Brighton, Mich. AQ had a unique opportunity to match up with NCAA Division II opponent Saginaw Valley State and the Saints took full advantage and tallied a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.
 
A pair of Saints – Sydney Shenk and Filippa Struxsjo – tallied Aquinas' opening two and closing two goals, while Hannah Crum added the other tally. Shenk scored at the 6:16 mark of the opening half, following up her initial blocked shot with a second attempt which found the back  of the net. Crum was credited with the assist to add to her later goal.
 
Shenk made it 2-0 at the 23:33 mark on a breakaway, flipping the ball over the goalie's head and recording an easy tap-in goal for her second goal of the game. The score would stay 2-0 until halftime. Aquinas outshot SVSU 7-5 in the opening half.
 
Crum lined up for a corner kick at the 63:06 mark and her kick sailed directly into the net, putting Aquinas – the designated home team – on top by a 3-0 cushion. Saginaw Valley State added a goal 13 minutes later to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Struxsjo responded with a goal less than a minute later, cleaning up a loose ball in front of the net and scoring her first tally of the season. Three minutes later at the 80:30 mark, Struxsjo scored the final goal of the game to make it a 5-1 contest. 
 
AQ held a 19-10 shot advantage and a 4-1 lead in corner kicks. Shenk took a game-high five shots, with three coming on goal. Struxsjo, Crum, and Laia Cunill each took three shots, while Katelyn Kahael attempted a pair of shots. 
 
The Cardinals committed 14 fouls to 11 for Aquinas. Braeleigh McCoy stopped all three shots she faced in the first half, while Taryn Webb made a pair of saves and allowed only a penalty kick goal in the second half.
 
Aquinas (now 2-0 on the year) heads to Indianapolis on Tuesday (Mar. 2) for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff with Marian in a great early season regional match-up.