The Aquinas women's lacrosse team hosted the Bethel Pilots for the WHAC opener at the AQ Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 20). The Saints had a strong second half, out scoring the Pilots 7-3 to earn AQ the 14-9 victory. Aquinas improves to 2-1 overall, and are now 1-0 in WHAC play. 

Aquinas netted the first two goals back-to-back before the Pilots went on a 4-0 scoring run to grab the 4-2 advantage. The Saints battled back with some tenacity going on a 5-0 scoring run themselves. Two more goals were scored by Bethel to go into halftime with Aquinas having the skinny 7-6 lead. 

AQ started the second half by winning the draw control (Cierra Davis) and marching down the field for Davis to net a quick goal at the 28:45 mark (unassisted). Another goal, this time by Megan Moffat (assisted by Davis), gave the Saints a 9-6 lead. With 15 minutes left in the game, Aquinas held a 10-8 before the Saints rattled off four straight goals. 

Bethel netted the last goal of the game with five second left, but their offensive effort weren't enough to cut into the AQ lead. The loss drops Bethel to 2-4 overall, 0-1 WHAC.

Leading the Saints was freshman Davis recording six goals and three assists. Davis also tallied three draw controls, two ground balls, and had two caused turnovers. Naomi Plant finished with two goals and four ground balls. Lauren Hansen totaled two goals and three ground balls.

Moffat posted a goal, an assist, and four ground balls for the Saints. Recording one goal each was Kennadie Minerich, Alexis Villarini, and Katelyn Hall. Carli Taylor added five ground balls, three caused turnovers, and an assist. Alex Sullivan totaled three ground balls and an assist.

Aquinas goalkeeper, and this week's NAIA National Defender of the Week, Azariah Wells recorded 14 saves in her 60 minutes played and earned the win.

The Saints return to the field on Wednesday (Mar. 25) as AQ travels to Fort Wayne, Indiana for another big WHAC matchup against Indiana Tech. The game against the Warriors will begin at 6:00 PM.