Box Score Sylvania, OH – The Aquinas College women's soccer team accomplished two things with Saturday's 1-0 road win over Lourdes University at Wildcat Stadium in the WHAC tournament semifinals. The Saints (11-5-1) earned a spot in the tournament finals while also securing a berth in the NAIA national tournament as UNOH defeated Siena Heights 3-1 in the other semifinal.
Aquinas 1, Lourdes 0
The Saints got the redemption that they had been working toward, and it allowed their season to continue while also earning an automatic berth to the national tournament.
Aquinas avenged a 1-0 home loss to Lourdes during the regular season with another gritty defensive performance and another timely goal from leading scorer Kiersen Korienek.
After giving up a disappointing goal in the first 30 seconds in their loss to Lourdes, it was Aquinas' turn to get an early tally and put pressure on the Gray Wolves to chase the rest of the game.
In the 13th minute, Korienek received a pass from Maeve Comfort and was 1-on-1 with the goalie.
She took advantage of the matchup and booted a shot off the far post and into the goal to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.
It was the graduate student transfer's team-high 12th goal of the season.
The Saints, who have won five games in a row, controlled the first half with patience and poise on offense while stifling the Gray Wolves' attack defensively.
Lourdes didn't have a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.
The one-goal lead for the Saints held up as the defense thwarted every chance Lourdes had to even the score.
Aquinas' backline of WHAC Newcomer of the Year Catherine Hoff, Bridget Sherman and Katelynn Sterling limited Lourdes' scoring opportunities and helped preserve the shutout.
Inside the Numbers
- Senior goalie Kayla Shuk stopped all six shots on goal she faced as the Saints registered their eighth shutout of the season.
- Aquinas outshot the Gray Wolves 19-9, including 13 shots on goal.
- The Saints have allowed only one goal in their last five games.
- Aquinas will appear in the WHAC tournament finals for the fifth straight year.
- There were four yellow cards in the game with Aquinas picking up three.
Coach's Comments
Head coach Jenna Smith was elated following the game as her team advanced to the finals while also punching their ticket to nationals: "We knew that going into the game, so it was twofold for us, so I think it was a little more nerve-racking because of that extra layer. Happy to win, but also super excited to go play in the final. The first goal is massive, and we knew that was going to be big for us. That was what obviously hurt us the most the first time when they got the first goal and we chased the whole time so we really pushed for it, got it early and then was able to manage the game from there."
Up Next
The Saints (11-5-1) will play in Wednesday's WHAC tournament championship game at UNOH. Game time is 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 ten 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.
