Despite a scoreless 0-0 tie at halftime, the Aquinas men's soccer team posted four goals in a 13-minute stretch of the second half to pull away from visiting UM-Dearborn on Thursday night (Apr. 8) at the AQ Athletic Field. On a cloudy, eventually very rainy night, the Saints pulled away in the regular season finale by a 4-1 score.
With the victory, Aquinas closes the regular season with a 10-2 overall record and a 9-2 mark in WHAC play. UM-Dearborn is 1-7 overall and 1-7 in conference action.
Thursday's game started about 20 minutes late due to a pregame lightning delay and neither team was able to make much happen in the opening half. There were just nine total shots in the first 45 minutes, as the game was 0-0 at halftime.
That would change quickly in the second half. 70 seconds into the half, Liam Travers played a ball to Theo Maye near the top of the box. He dribbled into the box and drilled a shot to the right side of the net for the opening goal of the game, his eighth tally of the year.
Barely six minutes later, the Saints had a shot that was blocked by the Wolverines defense, but Andrea Ghiggini came in after the deflection to put a great shot on net. It went past the diving keeper for the first goal of the season for Ghiggini and a 2-0 AQ lead.
Less than five minutes later, Ghiggini added a second tally. A foul on UM-Dearborn gave the Saints a free kick opportunity. From near midfield, Alberto Teatin crushed a great ball towards the box, which was deflected into the air and Ghiggini used a header to put it in goal for the 3-0 advantage.
Not even 90 seconds later, the Saints lead went to 4-0. A long cross was played into the box and deflected, where Liam Travers had an easy tap into the net for his second goal of the year. Steffano Riley notched his first career assist on the tally.
After AQ's scoring binge, the rain began to pour, making for a wet final 30 minutes. UM-Dearborn scored a goal in the 83rd minute off a Saints miscue, but the Saints closed the game with the three-goal win.
Aquinas held a 19-13 edge in shots, while UM-Dearborn led in corners (4-3) and fouls (12-8).
Maye, Ghiggini, Travers, and Jasper Schinkel all recorded two shots on goal, with Ghiggini collecting his first multi-goal game at Aquinas.
The Saints earned the #3 seed heading into the WHAC Tournament, which begins this weekend. AQ was preparing to host #6 seed Siena Heights on Saturday (Apr. 10), but COVID issues at SHU will prevent the other Saints from competing in the quarterfinals, thus Aquinas automatically advances with a bye. AQ will play in the semifinals next Wednesday (Apr. 14) against either #2 UNOH or #7 Concordia.
