Box Score Grand Rapids, MI – The Aquinas College women's soccer team earned a tough 3-2 home victory over Saint Xavier on Wednesday afternoon. It was Mario Zuniga-Gil's first win as the Saints' first-year head coach. Aquinas bounced back from a season-opening loss to Spring Arbor.
Aquinas 3, Saint Xavier 2
Collecting that first win of the season can sometimes be the hardest to obtain.
The Saints found that out against an athletic Saint Xavier squad that refused to let them pull away.
Aquinas had to fend off a late rally from the Cougars after a seemingly comfortable two-goal lead was trimmed to one in the 83rd minute.
The Saints, however, kept the game-tying goal out of the net with key defensive plays to survive and notch their first win under Zuniga-Gil.
It took nearly three halves for Aquinas to find the back of the net for the first time this season, but they finally did when sophomore Raegan LaCross took advantage of a defensive miscue by a scrambling Saint Xavier goalkeeper and launched a shot into the right corner.
The goal gave Aquinas a 1-0 advantage at the half.
It didn't take long for the Saints to add to their lead. It took 13 seconds to be exact.
After the second-half kickoff, junior transfer Khloe Koelling found herself one-on-one with the keep and snuck it past her to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.
Saint Xavier answered with a goal in the 55th minute, but senior Maeve Comfort buried a shot into the right corner in the 62nd minute to make it 3-1.
Comfort's free kick from the top of the box was made possible after a Saint Xavier foul on Aubrey Phenicie.
While struggling to gain possession against Spring Arbor, Aquinas showed its ability to find space throughout and created multiple scoring opportunities against the Cougars (1-2)
Aquinas' backline also aided goalkeeper Claire Fogarty on three different occasions when Fogarty came out of the net to thwart attempts.
Inside the Numbers
- Aquinas goalkeeper Claire Fogarty, who earlier this week was named WHAC Player of the Week, recorded six saves.
- The Saints outshot the Cougars 18-10 and had 12 shots on goal.
- Corner Kicks: Aquinas (7), Saint Xavier (1)
- Fouls: Aquinas (7), Saint Xavier (6)
- Khloe Koelling led the Saints with four shots on goal.
Coach's Comments
Head Coach Mario Zuniga-Gil was pleased to pick up his first win at Aquinas. "It was a great game and a fun game, and we were slightly better than they were today. It was a tough game, and I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest at moments. Last Saturday it was very hard for us to find space and to be able to create opportunities so today was very opposite. We played another great team, and they gave us space that allowed to us to show our attacking personalities a lot more than Saturday."
Up Next
The Saints (1-1) will hit the road for the first time next Tuesday when they travel to play Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to visit AQSaints.com throughout the season 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. 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.
