Box Score Olivet, Mich. – The Aquinas College women's soccer team took a break from WHAC play Friday night and earned an impressive 4-1 road win over the University of Olivet. The Saints recorded season-highs in shots and shots on goal in the non-conference victory. Aquinas has won four in a row and improved to 5-3 overall.
Aquinas 4, Olivet 1
It may have taken a while, but the Saints are beginning to show their scoring prowess.
After struggling to find the back of the net through its four matches and being shut out three times, Aquinas has ramped up its goal production during its four-match winning streak.
The Saints have registered 12 goals in their last four matches, and several have come early.
Aquinas was quick to build a lead again on Friday, scoring twice in the first five minutes – 42 seconds apart.
Junior Khloe Koelling got the scoring started in the 3rd minute, notching a goal for the second straight match.
Senior captain Savannah Reese followed with her first goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Bella Berry.
Olivet's Victoria Murphy trimmed the Saints' lead in half with a goal in the 14th minute.
Aquinas continued to dominate possession and pepper Olivet's net, resulting in multiple scoring opportunities.
Reese added her second goal of the day before halftime, scoring in the 40th minute to push the advantage to 3-1.
Sophomore Hadley Fox completed the scoring in the second half, tallying her first goal of the season in the 63rd minute. Junior Julia Grzadkowska was credited with the assist on the play.
Junior Isabelle Bartlett was steady in net. She made her first start of the season and picked up the win.
Eleven different Saints had at least one shot. Eight substitutes made an appearance on the field and played extended minutes.
Inside the Numbers
- Junior Isabelle Bartlett made her first start in net for Aquinas and played all 90 minutes while recording three saves.
- The Saints racked up a season-high 28 shots, including 14 on target.
- Corner kicks: Aquinas (8), Olivet (2)
- Savannah Reese led the Saints with seven shots, which included three shots on goal.
- Aquinas has tallied 12 goals during its four-game winning streak.
Coach's Comments
Head Coach Mario Zuniga-Gil: "It was a good game for us, just different playing non-conference after conference started, but we created a lot of chances today. I feel like we weren't able to finish as many of those chances as we would've liked, but we were able to rotate positions and put people in different places. A lot of girls stood out, and Izzy had a great game. Overall, I was proud of the effort and now we have a couple days off before we come back on Monday, It was a good day and we're looking forward to next Saturday and resuming conference play."
Up Next
The Saints (5-3, 2-0 WHAC) have an extended break before returning to the pitch next Saturday for Senior Day against Defiance. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. 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.
