Grand Rapids, Mich. - Aquinas faced off with Taylor University on Saturday (Sept. 2) in Grand Rapids. AQ fell to a second half rally to the visiting Trojans. The Saints led going into the second half, but Taylor managed two scores to squeeze in their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the hometown Saints.

Aquinas set the pace in the first half of today's match. The Saints were quick to take control of the first, and found the back of the net only 14:55 into the match. Ricardo Rittersberger finished a beautiful set piece from Mason Sills, establishing the Saints 1-0. Taylor attempted to slow down the pace of the game to keep their spark alive, but the Saints defense snuffed out any lights the Trojans managed to create. Milan Hoeffnagel, Joe Lockey, Josh Freeman-Wright, and Andrea Ghiggini locked down the Trojans, resulting in a 1-0 finish in the first.

Taylor started off this season as 0-3, so they returned to the pitch hungry for a contest. The Trojans hunger would be appeased in the 53rd minute as Matt Yoder finishes a set piece delivered by Justin Devlin, bringing the match to a 1-1 standstill in the second. TU was itching for their first win, while the Saints were looking to keep their season start undefeated. The match would be a constant back and forth until the 79th minute. This time Collin Maris finished a set piece pass from Yoder, bringing the Trojans one step closer to their first win of the season. 

Now the Saints found themselves down for the first time of the season and attempted to rally, but nothing was connecting for the boys in maroon. The Saints would finish the game without finding the back of the net in the final 45 minutes. Taylor would find their first win of the season with a little taste of revenge as Aquinas got the best of them last year with a 2-0 result. 

Aquinas outshot the opposition 23-9, with Rittersberger and Fikret Hasovic attempting five apiece and Jasper Schinkel recording four attempts. Nine shots would be on goal for the Saints, while eight would be on goal for the Trojans. AQ's physical play and hope for an equalizer would find them with nine total cards, eight of them being yellow. Eight of the total cards were given in the second half.

The loss evens AQ's season record at 1-1 overall. The boys in maroon are back in action at home on September 4th at 12pm for an exhibition match with Grand Rapids Community College.