Ann Arbor, Mich. — After nothing could separate the two sides in the first half, Aquinas men's soccer leading goal scorer
Theo Maye took matters into his own hands. Maye perfectly placed a low-driven shot from 20 yards out that snuck into the bottom right corner to put the Saints ahead 1-0 Saturday (Sept. 24) on the road against Concordia (Mich.) at Patrick T. Ferry Field.
That was the turning point in a lopsided 5-0 Aquinas win to open conference play this season.
Mason Sills scored a second-half hat trick to effectively seal the Saints' first WHAC victory.
Aquinas improved to 4-3-1 overall (1-0 WHAC) while Concordia slipped to 1-5 overall (0-1 WHAC).
Maye's fifth goal of the season was his sixth game-winning goal of his collegiate career. The junior midfielder scored unassisted in the 48th minute and effectively ignited AQ's offense.
Two pinpoint passes unlocked Sills for two goals four minutes apart in the 61st and 65th minutes. Defenseman
Andrea Ghiggini provided the first assist on a through ball leading to a breakaway finish. Then, winger
Jasper Schinkel found Sills again with a pass across the box to put the Saints up 3-0.
Coming off the bench and joining the second-half scoring party was senior
Damir Sabanovic in the 73rd minute with a 25-yard strike that sniped the top right corner for his first goal of the season. Sabanovic was roughly in the game for two minutes before scoring his screamer.
Sills completed his first collegiate hat trick in the 88th minute by splitting through Concordia's defense and calmly finishing in front of the goal. Sills, a sophomore forward, now has four goals on the season after scoring four goals in 16 games played last year as a freshman.
Aquinas goalkeeper
Antonio Strassioto made two saves to earn his third shutout of the season.
AQ outshot Concordia 29-9 (12-2 shots on target).
The Saints return home to face UM-Dearborn on Wednesday (Sept. 28). Aquinas needed overtime to beat UM-Dearborn last season on the road, winning 1-0 on a golden goal penalty kick converted by Maye in the 102nd minute. No overtime in the regular season any more so the Saints will be limited to 90 minutes in trying to beat the Wolverines for a third straight time. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from the AQ Athletic Field.
