Grand Rapids, Mich. — A week and a half ago the Aquinas men's soccer team lost 3-0 on the road at Lawrence Tech. The tables were turned on a windy, rainy Saturday afternoon (Nov. 5) as the No. 4-seeded Saints (10-7-2) knocked out the No. 5-seeded Blue Devils (5-8-7) in the quarterfinals of the WHAC Tournament with a revenge-fueled 5-0 victory at the AQ Athletic Field in Grand Rapids, Mich.

With the win, Aquinas advances to the WHAC Tournament semifinals for a third straight season and snapped a two-game losing streak in the process.

The opportunistic Saints scored three goals in the first half despite being outshot 8-5. Mason Sills slipped behind Lawrence Tech's back line for the opening goal in the 10th minute. Joshua Clemitson threaded the pass through and Sills calmly finished his one-on-one chance into the bottom right corner. It was Sills team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Two minutes later, AQ went up 2-0 off a corner kick. Giuseppe Calabrese put the ball into the box and Andrea Ghiggini put his body on the line to direct the cross into the goal.

Wrapping up the first half in style, senior midfielder Jai Tahlan uncorked a jaw-dropping, highlight-reel goal from roughly 30 yards out. Tahlan, off a first-time volley, smashed the ball into the top right corner from distance in the 44th minute to give the Saints a 3-0 going into halftime. This came directly after LTU had a string of corner kicks and had AQ pinned back in their own half for 5-10 minutes. The Blue Devils took nine corners in the first half, compared to AQ's one.

Aquinas added two more goals in the second half against a deflated Lawrence Tech squad that only managed one shot in the final 45 minutes.

The Saints quickly added a fourth goal 35 seconds into the second half when Ricardo Rittersberger was dragged down in the box. Ghiggini stepped to the spot and buried the penalty kick without hesitation for his second goal of the contest.

The final tally came in the 66th minute off another corner kick. Theo Maye delivered the ball to the back post where Milan Hoefnagels re-directed the ball back to the near post for an awaiting Tahlan. While his first header was saved from point-blank range, Tahlan's follow-up attempt wouldn't be denied.

Both teams emptied out the bench over the last 20 minutes with the match effectively decided.

AQ senior goalkeeper Antonio Strassioto made two in the shutout win.

The Saints move on to the WHAC Tournament semifinals to face No. 1-seeded Madonna. The Crusaders (15-0-3) beat Siena Heights, 5-0, in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The WHAC semifinals match will be played Wednesday (Nov. 9) at Madonna. The time has yet to be announced, stay tuned to AQSaints.com for more information.