Women's Soccer Quarterfinals Sees One Upset
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - Three of the top four seeds prevailed in the opening round of the 2021 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Women's Soccer Tournament. Top-seeded Aquinas, third-seeded UNOH, and fourth-seeded Siena Heights all posted victories, but No. 2 Madonna fell to the seventh-seed in double overtime.
Aquinas defeated No. 8 Indiana Tech 3-1 to advance to a semifinal match against Siena Heights, who eliminated No. 5 Lourdes, 4-2. The other semifinal features No. 7 Lawrence Tech at UNOH on Nov. 6
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, Nov. 3
#1 Aquinas (10-0-1/17-1-1) def. #8 Indiana Tech (5-6-0/9-10-0), 3-1
Aquinas struck at the end of the first half when Laia Cunill scored at the 43:13 mark for a 1-0 lead. AQ went up 2-0 when Merin McDermott scored a ball from Ariana Garcia in the 54th minute before Garcia scored unassisted 10 minutes later. Indiana Tech got on the board seconds before the match ended when Anna Bella Kowalczyk set up Olivia Sherman for the score
Goals: Garcia, McDermott, Cunill 1 (AQ); Sherman 1 (IT)
Assits: Garcia 1 (AQ); Kowalczyk 1 (IT)
Saves: Webb 3 (AQ); Bitle 3 (IT)
#4 Siena Heights (13-4-2) def. #5 Lourdes (8-4-7), 4-2
Sarah Ammon put Siena Heights up 1-0 when she drilled a header off a cross in the box at the 23:38 mark. McKenzie Klingensmith of Lourdes tied the match when she beat the keeper to the left seven minutes later to close out the first half scoring. Marissa Young put SHU back in the lead when she dribbled around a defender at the top of the box in the 59th minute and Allie Balasico extended the Saints' lead to 3-1 two minutes later with an unassisted goal. Chloe Shaffer took a cross from Abigail Mann and put the ball into an empty net to pull Lourdes to with one at 3-2 in the 70th minute. Kaleigh Mahaz scored the insurance goal at the 74:14 mark off a corner kick to close out the scoring.
Goals: Mahaz, Balasico, Young, Ammon 1 (SHU); Shaffer, Klingensmith 1 (LU)
Assits: Hyde 1 (SHU); Mann 1 (LU)
Saves: Rodger 9 (LU); Bishop 0 (SHU)
#3 UNOH (7-2-2/11-5-3) def. #6 Concordia (4-4-2/7-8-3), 4-0
UNOH sophomore Ariana Mondiri's goal in the 15th minute stood as the only score for nearly 65 minutes until Agnes Stefansdottir put a ball into the net over the keeper off an assist from Alejandra Gomez Nogueras and Renata Aguirre. Sandra Pedersen scored in the 88th minute off a free kick just outside the penalty box for a 3-0 UNOH advantage. Pedersen took another free shot in the 90th minute only to have Anna Roman knock it away, Lorina Romeis put in the rebound for the final score. Martina Galloni recorded her seventh shutout of the season with a pair of saves for UNOH. Roman ended with five saves while allowing four goals.
Goals: Stefansdottir, Mondiri, Pedersen, Romeis 1 (UNOH)
Assits: A. Gomez Nogue, Reuille, Pedersen, Aguirre 1 (UNOH)
Saves: Roman 5 (CUAA); Galloni 2 (UNOH)
#7 Lawrence Tech (4-4-2/8-7-3) def. #2 Madonna (7-1-2/13-2-2), 2-1 (2OT)
The two teams played scoreless in the first half until Abby Werthman scored at the 41:06 mark on a pass from Morgan Stack to put Madonna up 1-0. LTU's DiOnna Hill evened the game in the 77th minute and the match then saw a flurry of shots as each team tried for the win. Despite six shots, with two on goal, the score held at 1-1 to close out regulation. Defense ruled the first overtime with only one shot being taken, which was wide right. Hill sent a header toward the Madonna goal in the 102nd minute, but Alex Thomas came up with a huge save. A minte later, LTU took another shot only to have it blocked. Jaiden Konrad then found the back of the net at the 104:10 mark to give the Blue Devils the win.
Goals: Konrad, Hill 1 (LTU); Werthman 1 (MU)
Assits: Stack 1 (MU)
Saves: Thomas 7 (MU); Almandoz 5 (LTU)
Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 6
#4 Siena Heights (13-4-2) at #1 Aquinas (17-1-1), 2 p.m.
#7 Lawrence Tech (8-7-3) at #3 UNOH (11-5-3), 11 a.m.