Grand Rapids, Mich. – The (RV) Aquinas men's soccer team played their final contest of the regular season on their home turf Wednesday night (Oct. 30) against the Rochester Christian University Warriors. The Saints put on a show in front of their home fans, scoring five goals in the first half and ending the game with a score of 6-1.

The result keeps AQ as the number four seed heading into the WHAC tournament after Lourdes also won its game today. The 12-4-1 (8-3-1) Saints will host UNOH next Tuesday (Nov. 5) to kick off the conference tournament.

#RV Aquinas 6, Rochester Christian 1

Rochester Christian scored first on a counterattack after early offense from the Saints, and the Warriors took the lead just over three minutes into the game. AQ nearly found an instant equalizer with a two-on-one opportunity, but Aquinas could not quite find the back of the net.

That changed in the 14th minute when Jasper Schinkel sent in a beautiful shot that the RCU keeper did not even both to move and try to save. Yussef Hakmaoui provided the assist and cracked double-digit assists with this pass.

A series of offense ensued with RCU barely holding onto the 1-1 score. Ricardo Rittersberger hit the crossbar, then hit the post, and then had a one-on-one shot incredibly saved by the Rochester Christian goalkeeper. It was not until the 39th minute that Rittersberger finally found the back of the net after being taken out in the box by a blatant foul. Rittersberger put the ball down on the spot and converted the penalty kick for his 16th goal of the season.

That penalty sparked an incredible run from the Saints. Rittersberger was on to net once again, but the Warriors' keeper managed to parry the ball away. Tevan Jones was there to clean it up and give AQ its third goal just two minutes later. 30 seconds after that, Jones ran down the right wing and sent the ball into the middle. His pass found Fikret Hasovic who slotted the ball into the left side of the net for AQ's fourth goal.

Aquinas was not done just yet. In the 44th minute, Emmanuel Bedolla pulled off a similar play as Jones, except he found Joseph Farhat for the fifth goal of the first half and the fourth goal in six minutes.

The second half started with an early goal from Rittersberger after a pass from Hakmaoui, giving the former his second goal of the game and Hakmaoui his 11th assist of the year. That goal marked Rittersberger's 17th of the season, matching his regular-season total from last year.

The contest quieted down a bit after that goal and the game maintained the 6-1 scoreline. AQ had a late barrage of offense at the end of the fixture, but the score still remained 6-1 at the final whistle.

By the Numbers:

• AQ's domination of Rochester Christian continued as they outshot the Warriors 35 (21) to 7 (2). The Saints improved to a 10-1 record against RCU dating back to 2006.
• Rittersberger's quest for his second consecutive WHAC Offensive Player of the Year looks good as the striker leads the conference with 17 goals in 17 appearances this season. He ranks number seven in the country for goals scored.
• Hakmaoui is tied for second in the entire NAIA with 11 assists this season. One more assist would also tie Hakmaoui for the most assists in a season in AQ history.
• That first-half goal was Farhat's first collegiate goal as a Saint.
• Six goals were the most goals that AQ has scored since its 8-0 win over Defiance back in September.

Up Next

AQ is on to the WHAC tournament as the number four seed and will host UNOH in the quarterfinals. This game will take place on Tuesday, November 5th.