The #17 Aquinas women's soccer team tallied a golden goal in the second overtime on Thursday night (Apr. 15) in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament to defeat (RV) Cardinal Stritch by a 2-1 final. After the Wolves scored the equalizer in the 88th minute,
Breanna Probst netted the game-winner three minutes into the second overtime off a corner kick from
Hannah Crum.
Thursday's opening round game in Indianapolis – hosted by top seed Marian – ended up being a great matchup with an even better finish. Aquinas, which was the second seed in the four-team bracket, moves to 14-2 with the victory, while third-seeded Cardinal Stritch sees its season end with an 11-2-1 record.
It is the second year in a row AQ has won a game at the NAIA National Tournament, as the Saints defeated #25 Olivet Nazarene by a 3-1 score in the 2019 tournament. Thursday's victory sends Aquinas into a rematch with #5 Marian in Saturday's (Apr. 17) second round at 7:00 p.m.
AQ held a 6-1 advantage in shots in the first half and needed just one to take the 1-0 lead at intermission. In the 26th minute,
Sydney Shenk took a pass from
Emma Gray near midfield, then turned and sent it down the left sideline to Crum. She took a few dribbles to get past her defender and sent a beautiful strike over the head of the Wolves goalie and into the top right corner of the net.
The teams played pretty even in the second half – Cardinal Stritch outshot AQ by a 7-4 margin over the second 45 minutes – and knotted the score at 1-1 in the closing minutes. At the 87:44 mark, the Saints were called for a foul in the box, giving the Wolves a penalty kick with barely two minutes remaining. CSU's Mia Bedarf put it past a diving
Braeleigh McCoy for the equalizer, which would send the game to the first overtime.
Aquinas had two good looks in the first session on shots by Crum and
Macy Hollingsworth, but neither materialized and the game went to a second extra frame. The Saints earned their first corner kick of the game on a good effort from
Brittney Carter in the opening two minutes. Crum went back to take the corner and sent a great ball into the box in front of the net. Probst was able to play it with a header and put it past the keeper for the golden goal, sending AQ into Saturday's second round.
The Saints outshot Cardinal Stritch by a 13-9 margin and a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. AQ was whistled for 13 fouls (six on CSU), while the Wolves held the 3-1 margin in corners.
Crum and Hollingsworth each tallied four shots, while Crum was the only player in the game with multiple shots on goal. McCoy made a pair of saves, including a huge stop with 10 minutes remaining in the second half to keep it a one-goal lead.
Aquinas moves on to face the host Marian Knights on Saturday night. Marian defeated AQ by a 1-0 score on Mar. 2 in Indianapolis; that game was the Saints' third of the season, while the Knights were playing their 16th game of the year. Marian is one of just two teams to defeat Aquinas this season.
