Upland, Ind. – The first road trip of a season can tell a team plenty about itself. For the Aquinas men's soccer team, Wednesday night's trip to Upland showed a group capable of going into a difficult environment, standing toe-to-toe with an unbeaten opponent and giving itself an opportunity to win. For more than 71 minutes, the Saints and Taylor searched for the one moment that could separate them. Unfortunately for AQ, that moment belonged to the Trojans, as a second-half goal was all that separated the two sides in a hard-fought 1-0 decision.
Taylor 1, Aquinas 0
Following a lightning delay, the Saints settled into their first road environment of the season and matched Taylor throughout a scoreless opening 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Peyton Huffman was called upon early, turning away Josh Byrd's attempt in the ninth minute to keep the match level.
Aquinas generated its first quality opportunity just minutes later when Maurice Chandler Jr. put a header on frame in the 12th minute, forcing Taylor goalkeeper Connor Shaw into his first save of the night. Adam Flanders followed with another shot on goal at 19:28, while Fikret Hasovic narrowly missed to the left in the 27th minute. The Saints finished the opening half with three shots and three corner kicks while holding Taylor to just two shots as the teams entered halftime scoreless.
AQ continued to search for the breakthrough after halftime, and Hasovic again tested Shaw in the 58th minute with his second shot on goal of the match. Hasovic also created another opportunity with a corner kick at 63:04 before Brian Mosqueda sent an attempt high less than a minute later.
Taylor began to generate more pressure as the second half progressed, but Huffman kept the match scoreless with a save on Luka Gole in the 66th minute. The deadlock finally ended at 71:33 when Arron Habecker scored an unassisted goal to put the Trojans in front, 1-0.
The Saints immediately went searching for an equalizer, with Mosqueda sending another attempt just wide right less than three minutes after Taylor's goal. Head Coach Luke Ruff continued to look for an offensive spark, utilizing Jackson Rittner, Chase Jacobs Gries, Austin Tucker and Marcos Real during the closing stretch. AQ's back line of Joseph Farhat, Logan McClure, Miguel Gonzalez and company kept the Saints within striking distance as the clock moved toward 90 minutes. Huffman made one final save in the 87th minute, his third of the contest, but Aquinas was unable to produce the equalizer before the final whistle.
Aquinas finished with six shots, putting three on goal, while Taylor totaled nine attempts with four on target. Flanders, Chandler and Hasovic each recorded a shot on goal, while Hasovic and Mosqueda shared the team lead with two total attempts apiece. Huffman played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with three saves.
With the result, Aquinas moves to 1-1-0 on the season, while Taylor remains unbeaten at 2-0-1.
Saints Snapshots
- First Road Test: Wednesday marked Aquinas' first road match of the 2026 season.
- First-Half Pressure: The Saints outshot Taylor 3-2 in the opening 45 minutes and matched the Trojans with three first-half corner kicks.
- Three on Target: Flanders, Chandler and Hasovic each put an attempt on goal for AQ.
- Huffman Holds Strong: Peyton Huffman recorded three saves while playing all 90 minutes in goal.
- 71 Minutes Deadlocked: AQ and Taylor played scoreless soccer for the opening 71:32 before the Trojans broke through.
Coach's Comments
Following the Saints' first road match of the season, Head Coach Luke Ruff saw plenty his team can take from a 90-minute battle that remained undecided deep into the second half.
"I thought tonight was another important step for our group. Going on the road for the first time and playing a good team in a difficult environment gives us another opportunity to learn who we are. There are things we need to clean up, and our guys know that, but what I continue to like is their willingness to work and their commitment to what we're trying to build. This group has completely bought into the system and into each other, and that's what gives me confidence in where we're headed. A result like this hurts because we were right there, but we'll learn from it, get back to work and keep moving forward together."
Up Next
The Saints will now have more than a week to learn from their first road test, get back to work and prepare for another opportunity away from home in Joliet, IL over Labor Day Weekend. AQ returns to the pitch on Saturday, September 5, traveling to face St. Francis and the Fighting Saints for a 6 p.m. start. AQ will look to turn Wednesday night's lessons into its second victory of the season and first away from home.
Be sure to visit AQSaints.com for live statistics, streaming links and complete post-game coverage of Aquinas men's soccer and all other AQ Athletics programs.
It's a great day to be a Saint.
