Foley, Ala. – It's like déjà vu all over again.
Last year, the #13 Aquinas women's soccer team traveled down to Alabama and earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over #15 Westmont to advance to the NAIA National Tournament quarterfinals against #1 Keiser.
Macy Hollingsworth scored the second half game-winning goal in that 2022 triumph.
This year, the #9 Saints again earned another trip to Alabama – this year it is Foley, not Orange Beach like the 2022 trip – and secured another hard-fought 2-1 victory to advance to the NAIA National Tournament quarterfinals against #1 William Carey (which, ironically, defeated Keiser in Monday morning's opening game, 1-0).
For more déjà vu: it was Hollingsworth again scoring the decisive goal in the second half on Monday (Nov. 27) against #8 John Brown, as Aquinas marches on in the national tournament.
Before preparing for William Carey on Thursday (Nov. 30), the Saints will enjoy the 2-1 win that pushes Aquinas to a 17-0-4 record. AQ and 22-0 William Carey (Miss.) are two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the tournament, with Spring Arbor to play on Tuesday morning.
It is the second year in a row – and second time in program history – that the Saints have moved onto the NAIA National quarterfinals.
"I'm really proud of how the girls played today against a physical and athletic opponent," commented second-year head coach
James DeCosemo. "We managed the game really well and both goals were well-worked and well-taken."
#9 Aquinas and #8 John Brown (18-3-1) traded early scoring chances in the opening 10-plus minutes, as the Saints applied some pressure with a corner kick and a header shot that was off target. 90 seconds later, Aquinas broke through. Near midfield,
Brittney Probst placed a beautiful ball backwards over her head, which caught
Sydney Shenk in stride.
Shenk – the 2023 WHAC Offensive Player of the Year – outraced a pair of John Brown defenders to earn a 1-on-1 against Emily Dobbins, the JBU keeper. Shenk fired past Dobbins from just outside of the box into the lower left side of the net for the opening goal of the game. Just under 12 minutes into the contest, AQ held the 1-0 edge. It was Shenk's 11th goal of the season and Probst rightfully earned her sixth assist of the campaign.
The 1-0 lead would hold until the intermission. John Brown doubled AQ in shots (6-3) over the first 45 minutes, with
Kayla Shuk saving five of the six opportunities from the Golden Eagles.
It took barely six minutes of the second half for Aquinas to double its lead. After a pair of early shots in the opening minutes, the Saints struck again with two of the same participants from the opening goal. Probst played a ball into the box from the left side, which Shenk deftly touched over to an open Hollingsworth. She deposited a shot past Dobbins for her eighth goal of the year. At the 51:03 mark, Aquinas held a 2-0 advantage.
In 2022 against Westmont, Hollingsworth's second half tally came in the 81st minute, exactly 30 minutes later than her goal on Monday that gave AQ an important insurance goal. It would prove to be a crucial tally for the Saints, as five minutes later the deficit was cut back to one.
Julia Lambert put John Brown's first shot of the second half into the net past Shuk with a beautiful strike into the top corner. It was the first goal allowed by the Saints in the second half of a game since the Sept. 7 road contest at #24 Campbellsville.
With more than 33 minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles trailed just 2-1. However, the Saints defense would step up and allow just one more shot the remainder of the contest.
John Brown missed a shot high in the 85th minute and in one last gasp attempt, sent a ball towards the box in the closing seconds. Shuk fell on the ball as the clock counted down to zero and the Saints rejoiced with their second National Tournament final site victory in as many years.
"We will enjoy the win today, then turn our focus to #1 William Carey," DeCosemo explained. "I'm excited for this team to take on that challenge and give them a good go!"
Aquinas flipped the script from the first half, outshooting JBU by a 9-2 count over the final 45 minutes. Dobbins and the Golden Eagles needed to make four second-half saves, while Shuk ended the game with the same five saves from the first half.
The Saints backline of
Ingrid Hentemann,
Emma Merchant, and
Avery Tack – among others – logged all 90 minutes and appeared to get stronger as the game went along, as evidenced by just two second half shots for the Golden Eagles.
Overall, AQ held a 12-8 edge in shots and a slim 8-7 advantage in shots on target. Shenk attempted a game-high four shots, while
Emily Gignac was credited with three shots. Both Hollingsworth and Shenk put two shots on goal.
The Saints were called for seven of the 10 fouls in a cleanly played contest. AQ recorded three of the game's five corners.
William Carey will provide quite a test for the AQ defense on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. ET. The Lady Crusaders have scored 135 goals this season – 44 more goals than any other team in the country – en route to their perfect 22-0 start. Aquinas, however, leads the nation with only five goals allowed all season.
It is the nation's top defense trying to hold off the best offense in the country, with a spot in the national semifinals on the line.
