Orange Beach, Ala. — To be the best, one must beat the best.

The No. 13-ranked Aquinas women's soccer team had its opportunity to send shock waves across the NAIA on Thursday (Dec. 1) as they squared off against No. 1-ranked Keiser (Fla.) in the national tournament quarterfinals. The Seahawks, however, remained undefeated and ended the Saints' historic season with a 1-0 win at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala.

Keiser (22-0-1) continues its pursuit of the program's third national title, while Aquinas (21-3-1) ponders what could have been after tying the school record with 21 wins this season and reaching the national tournament quarterfinals for the first time in the program's history.

A scoreless first half had Keiser on the back foot as AQ continued to press the Seahawks all across the field. The Saints had all the quality scoring chances, outshooting Keiser 5-2 (2-0 shots on target) in the first 45 minutes with Sydney Shenk (two shots), Ariana Garcia, Jenna Konwerski and Laia Cunill all taking a crack at the goal.

Momentum shifted drastically in the second half. The Seahawks settled in and pinned the Saints in their own half for multiple minutes at a time. Signs of fatigue started to set in as AQ couldn't get the same pressure they had early on.

After 76 minutes of scoreless soccer, Keiser broke the deadlock on a ball crossed into the box by Maja Henriksson. Lauren Riley stepped up into a cluster of players inside the six-yard box and knocked the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal away from Aquinas goalkeeper Kayla Shuk.

It was Riley's 12th goal of the season and a team-leading 17th assist for Henriksson.

Keiser rode out the final 13 minutes of regulation to secure the victory. The Seahawks only won by a single goal for just the third time this season. They notched their other 19 wins by two or more goals.

Aquinas outshot Keiser 10-8 (4-3 shots on target). The Seahawks had two more corners (7-5). Frustration saw three cards shown in the final minutes and after the match.

AQ fifth-year senior Hannah Crum took three shots in the second half, but couldn't find career goal No. 74 that would have tied her for the most goals ever scored by a WHAC women's soccer player. 

Keiser advances to face No. 4-seeded Spring Arbor (Mich.) in the NAIA National Tournament semifinals at 2 p.m. EST Saturday (Dec. 3) in Orange Beach. The Cougars defeated William Carey (Miss.) 1-0 in the quarterfinals prior to Aquinas and Keiser taking the pitch.

The Saints will graduate a handful of seniors who have established the winning tradition of always getting further in the NAIA Tournament than the year prior. From making the national tournament for the first time five years ago to the program's first quarterfinals appearance this season, the Saints will look to go another step further next season.