Box Score Grand Rapids, Mich. – The season was not supposed to end this early for the Aquinas women's soccer team. But unfortunately, it did on Saturday afternoon following a disappointing 2-1 home loss to crosstown rival Cornerstone University in the quarterfinals of the WHAC tournament.
Cornerstone 2, Aquinas 1
It was a win-or-go home scenario for the Saints as they faced a familiar foe in front of a large contingent of fans from both schools.
Aquinas had beaten Cornerstone 1-0 on the road just 10 days ago and it appeared as if the Golden Eagles were motivated to reverse that result to prolong their season.
The Saints started strong, putting early pressure on Cornerstone goalkeeper Corinne McGlassion with six shots in the first seven minutes from Raegan LaCross, Bella Berry, Tia Rita Daher, Savannah Reese and Khloe Koelling.
Cornerstone netted the first goal of the game in the 26th minute as Toria Beute rifled a shot from 20 yards out over the head of Aquinas goalkeeper Claire Fogarty to make it 1-0.
Aquinas was forced to chase in the second half and tried desperately to find the equalizer.
However, the Golden Eagles added to their lead in the 79th minute on a goal from Gracie Gortmaker.
A sense of urgency was needed by the Saints and they responded.
Despite missing two injured starters, Joy Reams and Bella Teelander, the Saints didn't quit and made it interesting in the final five minutes of play.
Aquinas trimmed the deficit to a single goal in the 85th minute as Koelling poked in a shot from in front of the net off an assist from Addyson Jacquemain.
The Saints had one more quality chance in the closing minutes but were unable to extend the match to overtime.
Aquinas recorded more shots than the Eagles but managed only five shots on goal.
Koelling and LaCross led Aquinas with two each, while Julia Grzadkowska had the other.
Saints Snapshots
- Aquinas sophomore goalkeeper Claire Fogarty ended a stellar first year in the net with five saves.
- The Saints outshot the Golden Eagles 17-10, but Cornerstone had the edge in shots on goal, 7-5.
- Aquinas committed 10 fouls and created four corner kicks, while Cornerstone registered only four fouls.
- The Saints' loss was their first against Cornerstone since Oct. 26, 2017.
Coach's Comments
Head coach Mario Zuniga-Gil after a disappointing end to his first season at the helm: "We started off the game really well and I think the first 10-15 minutes we were in great control creating chances back and forth. But after they got the first goal, I think the quality of our soccer wasn't the same from that point on. We had a final stretch that was really good and we had a really good chance at the end, but we just couldn't put it away. Soccer and life are the same. You have the very happy moments and the very sad moments, and particularly in soccer, on any given day, you don't know how you are going to leave the field.
"Very happy with how the first year went in terms of what we built and putting ourselves on track to where we want to go. This is obviously nowhere near the place we want to be in the future, and I know we are going to continue to get better and grow. We are going to build on this starting tomorrow."
Up Next
Aquinas ended the season with an 8-5-3 overall record and went 5-1-3 in the WHAC. The Saints Be sure to visit AQSaints.com for live statistics and complete postgame coverage of Aquinas women's soccer and all other Saints sports.
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. He's covered high school sports for 11 years at Grand Rapids–based WOOD-TV, following a 16-year tenure in sports reporting with the Grand Rapids Press and MLive. He also writes monthly high school features for the MHSAA website. His deep experience in capturing the heartbeat of local athletics now fuels his engaging coverage of Aquinas College sports.
