No. 24 Taylor Knocks Off No. 11 Aquinas for Eighth-Straight Win

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 24th-ranked Taylor University women's soccer team earned its second road win over a ranked opponent this season with a 2-1 victory at No. 11 Aquinas on Wednesday afternoon, extending the Trojans' win streak to eight.

TU (8-0-0) closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule undefeated for the first time since the 2022 season. The Trojans will commence league play next week.

Leah McQuade put the Trojans on the board first with a strike in the 12th minute, connecting with Eliza Luttrell who provided the assist. The duo has combined for 40 percent of the team's points this season, with McQuade notching her sixth goal and Luttrell, who is the reigning NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week, posting her team-leading sixth assist.

The Trojans' offense sparked early with a pair of shots delivered off the foot of Morgan Fletemeyer, before building up pressure and converting the opening goal of the contest.

Both keepers were busy at the onset of the battle between ranked squads, with each recording a save in the early going. Brianna Rawlings grabbed her first save of the day after the TU defensive group fended off pair of corners during a nervy moment near the 10-minute mark.

Making her first career appearance in the starting lineup, Faith Sena nearly extended the lead with her shot on frame in the 25th minute.

Then, the Trojans finally broke through with the second goal of the opening stanza coming just before halftime. Kiana Siefert, who returned to the lineup after missing three games, found the back of the net in the 42nd minute for her second strike of the season and 14th goal of her career. The assist was credited to Sydney Reddy, marking her fourth of the season.

TU finished the opening half with four of its six shots placed on target, while the hosts only put one of five shot attempts on frame.

Meskerem James and Leah McQuade put two additional shots on goal within the first 10 minutes of action in the second half, as the Trojans continued to generate chances and work at a high rate to control possession.

The Saints (1-3-0) finally cut the deficit to one with their goal coming late in the 82nd minute. A header attempt was blocked by the Trojans before Maeve Comfort cleaned up the free ball. Those were the only two shot attempts of the entire second half for the Saints, as the stalwart TU defense held on the rest of the way and closed out the key road victory.

Statistically, the Trojans doubled up the Saints in total shot attempts, 14-7, while maintaining an impressive 7-2 edge in shots on goal. There were only a combined five total corners in the contest.

Next up, TU will travel to Bethel (3-1-1) for the Crossroads League opener on Wednesday, Sept. 24.