Fort Wayne, Ind. – Aquinas traveled down to Indiana on Wednesday (Nov. 13) to battle the No. 17-rated Indiana Tech Warriors for the WHAC Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to nationals. The two sides were evenly matched and could not be separated by 90 minutes of play. Both sides entered golden-goal overtime tied at 1-1, but it was ultimately Indiana Tech that managed to find the winner.
The result awards Madonna and Indiana Tech with the automatic national bids from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Aquinas is on the outside looking in as the Saints will need an at-large bid to return to nationals.
#17 Indiana Tech 2, (RV) Aquinas 1
The Saints found themselves controlling much of the first half after generating five corners and and several shots on target. However, despite AQ generating most of the first half offense, it was IIT that managed to find the first goal of the contest in the 39th minute. The goal left the Saints with an uphill battle in the conference tournament finals.
In a shocking turn of events in the second half, Indiana Tech ripped a shot off the crossbar, but the ball bounced out to
Yussef Hakmaoui. Hakmaoui then dropped a ball over the top to
Mason Sills, but played the ball a bit too far to the Warriors' keeper. However, the Indiana Tech keeper missed the ball, allowing Sills to easily collect the ball and tap it into an open net and tie up the contest.
Shortly after,
Ricardo Rittersberger had a great opportunity in front of the net, but the Indiana Tech keeper managed to come up with a save to keep the score level at 1-1. Several minutes later, Hakmaoui found space for a shot on the left side of the box but put the shot off the crossbar to keep the game tied.
Following that shot, the game quieted down a bit until the final five minutes of regulation, where all chaos ensued. With 4:30 left on the clock,
Mackenzie Clayton was issued a straight red after a tackle attempt, leaving AQ a man down. The Saints managed to hold on, but not before another red card was issued to the bench. After surviving the final five minutes, the two teams headed to overtime with the score still 1-1.
With overtime rules in play, the first team to score would be crowned the WHAC Tournament champion. Just a few minutes into the first overtime period, IIT managed to score off of a corner to walk off as winners.
By the Numbers:
- The game was very evenly balanced with AQ leading in shots on goal (5-4) and corners (7-5).
- Indiana Tech has now won the last three matchups by a score of 2-1. \
- AQ was issued five yellows and one red to IIT's zero cards, despite a similar number of fouls.
Up Next
AQ will need to earn an at-large bid to advance to nationals. With a recent win over No. 18-rated Madonna and taking No. 17-rated Indiana Tech to overtime, the Saints' odds have likely increased.
