Southfield, Mich. — You can't avoid it. Every good team has that game—the one where things don't click, where the opponent is feeding off its home crowd, they can taste an upset, and where the scoreboard starts asking hard questions. It's cliché, sure, but it is also the truth. At some point, every contender gets pushed into a corner and has to decide what it is made of.
Saturday in Southfield was that game for Aquinas.
And when the pressure rose, the Saints answered like the kind of team that has its eyes fixed on much more than just one win.
#3 Aquinas 15, Lawrence Tech 10
This was not the smooth, wire-to-wire kind of victory AQ has made look routine for much of the season. This was a grind. This was a test. And in many ways, this may have been one of the most important wins on the schedule because of what it revealed about the Saints when the game got uncomfortable.
Aquinas came out with good energy and grabbed control early. Cooper Croskey opened the scoring, Jake Koning found the net, and Brandon Klingelsmith added another as the Saints built a 3-0 lead and looked poised to settle into another strong afternoon.
But Lawrence Tech had other plans.
The Blue Devils responded with a surge that completely flipped the rhythm of the game. LTU scored twice late in the opening quarter, then erupted in the second to take over the contest. Suddenly, Aquinas was no longer dictating the terms. The Saints went into halftime trailing 7-5, and the road atmosphere had plenty of life.
The third quarter brought more tension.
Aquinas kept punching back, getting goals from Koning, TJ Murphy, and Braeden Williams as it tried to wrestle momentum back. Murphy netted a pair in the third, Williams added another, and the Saints kept finding just enough offense to stay within striking distance. But every time it seemed AQ might fully seize control, Lawrence Tech answered. By the end of the quarter, the Blue Devils still held a 10-9 advantage, and the Saints were staring at a fourth quarter that would tell the story of the day.
Then AQ became AQ again.
The fourth quarter was the kind of closing stretch that championship-level teams produce. Aquinas scored the final six goals of the contest and shut out Lawrence Tech over the final 15 minutes, turning a dangerous road battle into a statement about poise, depth, and competitive maturity.
Oliver Modderman started the decisive run with the game-tying goal off an assist from Ian Wright. From there, the Saints began to squeeze the life out of the game. Murphy struck to put AQ in front for good, Williams followed with another, Murphy buried one more, Collin Wildman added a man-up goal, and Koning finished the job late as the Saints stormed to the finish.
The offensive numbers were impressive, but they only tell part of the story.
Murphy and Williams each scored four goals, giving Aquinas two steady headliners when the game demanded finishers. Koning added three goals of his own, while Wildman was everywhere as a playmaker, totaling one goal and five assists in a six-point day. Wright added two assists, and Croskey, Modderman, and Klingelsmith all chipped in goals to show the kind of balance that makes this offense so difficult to contain.
Yet this win was about more than firepower.
Aquinas won the possession battle in several key areas. William Larriuz gave the Saints a strong presence at the faceoff stripe, helping AQ secure extra opportunities and steady the flow of the game. The Saints also controlled the ground-ball battle, showing the grit and urgency needed in a game where hustle plays mattered just as much as highlight plays.
Defensively, Aquinas had to weather far more than usual through the first three quarters, but the response in the fourth was elite. The Saints locked down the Blue Devils, communicated better, covered with more discipline, and took away the clean looks LTU had been getting earlier in the day. After allowing 10 goals through three quarters, AQ slammed the door completely in the fourth.
Austin Hynote came up with a strong effort in goal, making nine saves and delivering several timely stops that helped stop Lawrence Tech from ever regaining momentum once Aquinas made its move. In front of him, the defense rose to the moment, with players like Croskey, Max Sist, Ian Wright, Brandon Klingelsmith, and others doing the gritty work that often decides close conference road games.
And that may have been the most impressive part of the afternoon.
This was not a game where everything clicked. It was not one of those afternoons where the Saints simply overwhelmed an opponent from the opening whistle. This was a game where Aquinas had to stay composed, absorb adversity, and trust that if it kept working, the extra gear would be there when it was needed most.
It was.
That is what made this win feel significant.
Great teams do not just beat people when they are sharp. Great teams find ways to win when they are challenged, when they are out of rhythm, and when the margin for error starts to shrink. On Saturday, Aquinas proved again that it has the heart, experience, and competitive backbone to do exactly that.
With the victory, Aquinas improves to 12-2 overall and 8-2 in WHAC play, while Lawrence Tech drops to 4-11 overall and 3-8 in conference action.
Saints Snapshots
• Fourth-quarter finish — Aquinas trailed after halftime and after three quarters, then responded with a dominant 6-0 fourth quarter to put the game away.
• Star power, balanced punch — TJ Murphy and Braeden Williams scored four goals apiece, Jake Koning added three, and Collin Wildman turned in a six-point day with one goal and five assists.
• Closing time defense — After Lawrence Tech scored 10 goals through three quarters, the Saints defense blanked the Blue Devils in the final frame.
• Winning the gritty areas — AQ controlled key possessions with strong faceoff work, won the ground-ball battle, and made the hustle plays that swung the momentum late.
• Road-test response — This was not AQ's cleanest performance, but it may have been one of its most revealing, showing the Saints can handle a true gut-check conference game away from home.
Coach's Comments
"It wasn't our cleanest effort, and I don't think anybody in our locker room would say otherwise, but I was proud of the way we responded when the game demanded more from us," said Head Coach Peter Treppa. "For three quarters, we were not playing the standard we expect from ourselves. But in the fourth, our guys showed the toughness, discipline, and belief that makes this team special. We found another gear when we had to. That said, we also know there is work to do if we want this season to keep going deep into the postseason."
Up Next
The Saints will continue their strong regular-season push with a trip to Adrian, Michigan, before closing the regular season with the final Battle of the Saints, when AQ takes on Siena Heights on hump day.
Be sure to visit AQSaints.com for live stats, streaming links, and full postgame coverage of AQ Men's Lacrosse and all Saints sports.
