The #18 Aquinas women's soccer team netted four second-half goals en route to a 5-1 rivalry victory over Cornerstone on Wednesday (Mar. 17) at the AQ Athletic Field. Aquinas scored in the opening minute of both halves and junior Hannah Crum recorded her second hat trick of the season in the win.
 
AQ was playing its first-ever game as a nationally ranked team, as the Saints entered the NAIA Coaches Top-25 poll earlier on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first top-25 ranking for the Saints in school history. The victory on Wednesday pushes Aquinas to 7-1 on the season and 5-0 in WHAC play, while Cornerstone drops to 4-2-1 overall and 4-2-1 in conference action.
 
The Saints used the momentum from the top-20 ranking by scoring only 17 seconds into the game. Ariana Garcia took a pass and found Crum streaking down the left side of the field. Crum took the ball just outside the box and put it past the CU keeper on the lower left side of the net for a quick 1-0 lead. 
 
AQ had a couple other good chances throughout the first half, but nothing materialized. In the closing seconds of the half, Cornerstone tied the game at 1-1, scoring on a goal with only one second left on the clock. Both teams tallied four shots apiece in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Aquinas used its some quick-strike strategy to open the second half, with Crum again scoring in the opening minute. This time, Macy Hollingsworth delivered a pass to Crum and she found the back of the net to put AQ on top 2-1 at the 45:49 mark.
 
In the 64th minute, Garcia received the ball out beyond the box and fired a shot from deep, launching it into the lower right of the net. Her second goal of the year made it 3-1. Six minutes later, Brittney Carter got into the action with her first goal of the year, taking a Hollingsworth feed and putting it over the Cornerstone keeper's head into the net for the 4-1 cushion.
 
Crum finished off the hat trick by scoring on a corner kick in the 89th minute for her conference-leading 11th goal of the season. She also tallied a hat trick on Mar. 4 at IU-Kokomo and has scored a goal in six of eight games this year.
 
The Saints outshot Cornerstone 17-2 in the second half for a 21-6 overall margin. AQ also held a 7-2 margin in corners, while the Golden Eagles made eight saves. Braeleigh McCoy totaled a pair of saves in the victory.
 
AQ stays at home on Saturday (Mar. 20) to take on Lourdes at 3:00 p.m.