Men's Soccer Shuts Out Aquinas on Senior Day; Looks Ahead to WHAC Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
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1 | 2 | 3 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Aquinas (MI) | Cleary (MI) |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 13 (3) | 15 (4) |
| Saves | 1 | 3 |
| Fouls | 14 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 3 | 4 |
| Offsides | 3 | 1 |
(Howell, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's soccer team secured the most wins since the 2017-18 season, and won the most WHAC games in school history, after shutting out the visiting Aquinas College Saints 3-0 at Lake Trust Stadium Saturday. The team honored 14 seniors before the game and at halftime as part of this season's Senior Day.
It would not take long for the Cougars to strike, as the team would find the back of the net in the 12th minute. After a long throw by Simbarashe Mazarura got all the way through the Saints defense, Atario Brown recycled the ball to Niels Koert. Koert took a pass on the first touch up the middle to Thomas Kanouna, who turned and fired a shot that was immediately blocked by a Saints defender. Kanouna would be the first to the ball, and took a second attempt on goal, this time putting the ball in the net, and giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. The Cougars would control the game for the remainder of the half, but neither team had a truly dangerous scoring chance, and the half ended with Cleary leading 1-0.
Right after the second half restart, Cleary scored their second goal. Adam Baldwin stole the ball at midfield, turned to attack, and found Atario Brown running with him down the right hand side. Baldwin sent a pass to Brown, who took one touch, and then fired a shot right between the goalkeeper's legs, making it 2-0 early in the half. Once again, the Cougars would control the game, but they would add the dagger in the 84th minute to secure the victory. After earning a corner kick, Adam Baldwin took it short to Thomas Kanouna. Kanouna gave it back to Baldwin near the corner of the penalty area. Baldwin held the ball, sent Kanouna a pass towards the touch line, where Thomas Kanouna sent a cross into the box where Simbarashe Mazarura was waiting to redirect the ball into the net. Cleary would easily see out the game for a 3-0 shutout victory.
Austin Freemire and Diego Amezola-Orozco combined for the shutout victory, making 3 saves on all 3 shots faced. Cleary outshot Aquinas 15-13 in the game, with a 4-3 advantage on shots on goal. Aquinas committed 14 fouls to Cleary's 12 in the game.
The win gives Cleary a 12-6 record overall, and a 6-5 record in the WHAC. Cleary is now locked into the 6-seed, and will travel to Lima, Ohio next Saturday, November 1, to play the 3-seed UNOH Racers in the WHAC Quarterfinals.
