Grand Rapids, Mich. — Time running out,
Fikret Hasovic gathered the ball and ran to the other corner flag. Five, four, three... Hasovic whipped in a hastily taken cross to the front post.
Josh Freeman-Wright arrived on the scene and headed home the Aquinas men's soccer team's first goal of the season with less than a second left in the first half on Tuesday night (Aug. 22).
A dramatic scene to send the AQ Saints into the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes against their same nickname counterparts, the Holy Cross Saints. Aquinas (1-0) went on to add another set piece goal in the second half to grab a 2-0 win in their non-conference season opener over Holy Cross (0-1).
AQ senior goalkeeper
Antonio Strassioto earned his 22nd career shutout without having to make a single save, as Aquinas outshot Holy Cross 16-7 (5-0 shots on target). He is one shutout shy of tying AQ's all-time career record that is held by Sean Fischbach (1997-2000).
Strassioto had help on Tuesday from a sturdy backline that featured
Joshua Clemitson,
Joe Lockey,
Andrea Ghiggini, Milan Hoefnagels and Freeman-Wright.
Aquinas registered 10 shots in the first half before the Saints finally got their last-second breakthrough. Hasovic, a true freshman who came off the bench, made an immediate impact in his first collegiate game. His awareness to quickly set up another corner after Lockey just had his corner kick cleared away, gave AQ a second chance to score from the other side of the field.
Hasovic found the head of 6-foot-4 Freeman-Wright with no time to spare. It was Freeman-Wright's third career goal for the Saints since joining the team in 2020.
Using that momentum, Aquinas doubled up five minutes into the second half with a free kick at the top of the 18-yard box. Three Saints hovered over the ball, but it was
Jasper Schinkel who stepped forward and drilled a low-driven strike into the bottom left corner.
Schinkel opens his goal scoring account early after only scoring once last season.
The physical affair ended 2-0 with seven yellow yards being shown (four AQ, three Holy Cross). A combined 37 fouls were accumulated between the two sides.
After now winning back-to-back season openers the past two seasons, Aquinas now gears up to play the team they beat in last year's season opener: the Taylor Trojans (0-1). Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 2) from the AQ Athletic Field.
