Entering their rivalry game against Cornerstone University, the Aquinas Saints overall record for the year was 4-4-0, with a WHAC record of 2-1-0. With a loss to Indiana Tech on Sept. 27, the Saints were looking to take charge of the game.

When asked how he had been preparing his players for the game this week during practice, head coach Joe Veal emphasized defense.

“During our practices this week, the team worked on keeping possession of the ball and defense tactics,” said Veal.

Sophomore mid-fielder Jeff Larson had his feelings about the CU game as well.

“Cornerstone has always been a huge rivalry match for us,” he said. “So far this season we haven’t been satisfied with our record and I think this game is a great chance for us to put it together on out home field”.

The game started out slow. The few shots that Aquinas had on net were stopped cold by Cornerstone goalkeeper, Dan Kerstan. However, Cornerstone fired back with a gut wrenching shot that hit Aquinas’ cross bar with 29 minutes left in the first half. The score going into halftime was 0-0.

Nevertheless, the Saints came out firing in the second half with a quick goal from senior mid-fielder Jarod Smith, assisted by sophomore midfielder Mike Vaughan. However, Cornerstone was not far behind. They quickly came back to score with 32 minutes left in the half. With a power shot to the upper left corner, there was nothing senior goalkeeper and captain Ben Richardson could have done to stop it.

Throughout the next 15 minutes, the Aquinas forwards did their best to fire off shots, but most went wide to the right of the goal. With 15 minutes left of the game, Aquinas took the lead with a shot from freshman forward Jeovani Pantoja, with assists from Vaughan and freshman midfielder Jose Guillan. With that goal, Aquinas Saints went on to win the game 2-1.

An encouraging player throughout the game was Vaughan. With his positive comments to his teammates, he helped to keep team morale high. Returning for the Saints this week after an injury was freshman defenseman Elvis Fetic.

“With this being Fetic’s first full game back from his injury, we were very pleased with his performance,” said Coach Veal.

Richardson was positive about the game.

“This was a great game,” he said. “It was fun, but it would have been nice to have that shut out.”

“Overall I was satisfied with the game. It was also motivating to have all the people here today.”

Another take on the game, came from sophomore defender Chad DuRussel.

“This was a solid win. It was a big step for the conference. The team played well, and we kept fighting till the end,” he said.

Today, the Saints play at home versus Davenport at 4 p.m. This weekend, the Saints will host last place Concordia at 3 p.m. following the women’s game. Aquinas’ 3-1 league record puts them in second place overall behind Madonna, who is currently undefeated in league play.

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