Grand Rapids, Mich. — On Wednesday (Nov. 8) the Racers of UNOH traveled to Grand Rapids to take on the Saints of Aquinas College. The match would start physical but was put on hold due to inclement weather. After the delay, the match stood still at a halftime score of 0-0. But the Saints would capitalize on UNOH's mistakes and finish the match 4-1.
No-1 seeded Aquinas has been making strides in the postseason, with each match attempting to push the envelope a little further. Recently AQ was crowned the WHAC conference champion, the first time since 2010. Since being crowned, the Saints have set their eyes on the tournament championship. The last time AQ won the tournament was 2012. If Aquinas is able to capture the tournament title on Saturday (Nov. 11) it would mark the first time since 2000 since the Saints won both the regular season and the tournament title in the same year.
Approximately with 15 minutes remaining in the first half the teams were sent off due to lighting. By rule the pitch stood quiet for 30 minutes. Thankfully the lighting did not strike twice and both teams were able to resume play. But no team managed to break the keepers in the first half.
This was the second time this season the two teams have tested one another. Aquinas had hosted UNOH just a month and a day previously (Oct. 7), as AQ stamped the match 3-0. Coming out after the half, UNOH dialed up their physicality and naturally Aquinas came to match it.
The officials and coaches decided to have a reduced halftime in attempt to beat the rest of the weather. Luckily there was no weather delay in the second half.
Due to the inability to break into the net, both teams got frustrated and began to push the boundaries of play. This led to
Ricardo Rittersberger being awarded a penalty kick close to the 60th minute. Ritterberger worked his magic and pierced the veil, lifting the Saints to a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later,
Joshua Clemitson floated a long ball to Rittersberger and Rittersberger drove it home to claim his 19th goal of the season.
The Saints were weathering the storm and were feeling good about it. Just after Rittersberger and Clemitson tallied one in, the duo would strike once again just three minutes later, exploding the score to 3-0. All three Rittersberger goals occurred in less than a seven minute window, proving why he was recently dubbed the WHAC Offensive Player of the Year.
As emotions flared on the pitch, an UNOH player would receive his second yellow of the match in the 67th minute, sending him off. The Racers now had to play a man down for the remainder of this semifinal match.
Aquinas went on to find the back of the net one more time before the final whistle blew.
Yussef Hakmaoui drifted a well placed ball to
Stefano Moraccini down the left side of the pitch, Moraccini then lobbed it into the box and
Tevan Jones finished it with a flourish, using a beautiful diving header to net the Saints their fourth goal. This display by Jones demonstrates exactly why he was named the Newcomer of the Year.
Even a man down UNOH still managed to make challenges against the Saints. The Racers made AQ falter in the box, forcing a foul which lead to a penalty kick in the 81st minute. UNOH punched it in, putting them on the scoreboard. But that is where the scoring would cease for the remainder of the match.
UNOH totaled 12 shots, while AQ had 15. The Racers had 15 fouls, while Aquinas collected 10. The officials went on to paint the pitch yellow as 12 yellow cards were awarded during the contest, eight ocurring in the second half.
Aquinas takes the victory at home 4-1. AQ will compete for the WHAC Championship this Saturday (Nov. 11) at home with a 3 p.m. kickoff. The Saints will take the pitch against No-2 seeded Indiana Tech. Aquinas took down the Warriors of Indiana Tech in the final match of the regular season to steal the WHAC regular season championship just less than two weeks ago.
