Fort Wayne, Ind. — A 13-year drought is no more.
The Aquinas men's soccer team won the program's first WHAC Regular Season championship since 2010 with a monumental 3-0 road win at (RV) Indiana Tech.
AQ (12-2-3, 8-1-2 WHAC) had lost six straight to the Warriors (8-4-5, 7-1-3 WHAC) before pulling off the upset on Saturday evening (Oct. 28).
With the victory, the Saints clinched an automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2012.
The WHAC-leading goal scorer,
Ricardo Rittersberger, scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal from the penalty spot with 38 seconds left in the first half. It was his 17th goal this season and fifth game-winning goal.
While the 1-0 cushion for Aquinas at halftime was more than ideal, the game was far from over. Indiana Tech only needed a tie to rip the regular season conference title out of the Saints' hands and take it for themselves.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Aquinas found the breathing room it desperately craved.
Mason Sills finished a cross from
Yussef Hakmaoui to give the Saints a 2-0 advantage. His teammates joined him in celebration at the far corner flag. It was Sills' second goal of the season, all coming in the last three games.
Instead of bunkering down with a two-goal lead, Aquinas went out and buried one more for good measure in the 73rd minute.
Jasper Schinkel whipped in AQ's four and final corner kick of the contest and picked out
Jai Tahlan unmarked.
Tahlan confidently headed home his third goal this season. The Saints celebrated accordingly, 17 minutes away from glory.
Not only did the Saints watch the rest of the clock run out, but kept Indiana Tech off the scoreboard in the process. The last time AQ defeated the Warriors on Oct. 21, 2017, it was also a shutout, 2-0.
Aquinas fifth-year senior goalkeeper
Antonio Strassioto made two saves to preserve his ninth clean sheet this season — 30th of his career. His entire back line of
Joshua Clemitson,
Jesunifemi Ojutalayo,
Josh Freeman-Wright and
Joe Lockey all played 90 minutes and held the Warriors to seven total shots. That's tied for the second-fewest shots for Indiana Tech this season.
Rittersberger's 17th goal is tied for the fourth-most in a single season at Aquinas alongside Andrew Fearman (2000), Erich Jackson (2007) and Aldony Mendez (2014). The Saints' single-season record is 26 goals by Tyler Fischer (2012).
Besides the goal scorers,
Andrea Ghiggini and Clemitson each registered shots on goal for Aquinas. The Saints finished with eight shots with six hitting the target.
Top-seeded Aquinas awaits the No. 8 seed in the WHAC Tournament quarterfinals that will be played on Saturday (Nov. 4) at the AQ Athletic Field. Opponent and time are yet to be determined.
