Grand Rapids, MI – The Aquinas women's team dropped their first WHAC game of the season on Saturday afternoon after a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Lourdes University in a showdown for first place. The Saints had their four-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Gray Wolves for the first time in school history.  

 Lourdes 1, Aquinas 0

The matchup between the top two teams in the WHAC lived up to the billing, but unfortunately, the outcome didn't go the Saints' way after a disastrous beginning proved to be critical.

Lourdes (7-1, 5-0 WHAC) scored just 29 seconds into the game off a shot from Payton Childers.

It would be the only tally of the game as a defensive struggle ensued the remainder of the way.

The Saints had a few quality scoring chances but were unable to convert.

Kiersen Korienek had a header hit the crossbar in the 5^th minute.

Then, in the 33^rd minute, a shot by Savannah Reese in front of the goal went wide to the right.

Senior keeper Kayla Shuk did all she could to keep the Saints in the game and recorded six saves.

Shuk fully extended and pushed a shot attempt away in the final five minutes of the game to keep it a one-goal game.

Inside the Numbers

• Each team had 11 shots, but Lourdes had seven shots on goal compared to three for Aquinas.
• Corner kicks: Aquinas (5), Lourdes (3)
• Keeper Kayla Shuk stopped six shots.
• The Saints had 12 fouls, while Lourdes tallied 7.

Coach's Comments

Head coach Jenna Smith was disappointed after her team's first conference loss: "It's as bad as you can start a game as you can get and we were chasing after that. They played great (defensively), and if you take away the first 30 seconds it's a 0-0 game. They defended well, but we just didn't come out on time and we just have to figure it out. We can let this kill us or we can respond. We have to be resilient and go again next week."

Up Next

The Saints (5-4, 4-1 WHAC) travel to UM-Dearborn on Wednesday for another key WHAC matchup at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to visit AQSaints.com throughout the weekend for live stats, stories, and recaps.
 

NOTE: Dean Holzwarth, serving as the Senior AQSaints Athletics Reporter & Content Specialist for AQSaints.com, brings decades of journalistic precision and storytelling flair to the Saints' media efforts. Previously, he covered high school sports for five years at Grand Rapids–based WOOD-TV, following a 16-year tenure in sports reporting with the Grand Rapids Press and MLive. His deep experience in capturing the heartbeat of local athletics now fuels his engaging coverage of Aquinas College sports.