GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- The Ave Maria University women's soccer team was the recipient of a Herculean performance from goalkeeper Maddie Samuelson on Wednesday, as the senior made 13 saves in AMU's scoreless draw with Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. The shutout was Samuelson's third of the season, and came against one of the top NAIA teams in the nation - the Saints are ranked eleventh in the NAIA Coaches' Poll released just after kickoff Wednesday morning.
The first half was relatively uneventful, as the teams combined for just four shots on goal during the opening 45 minutes. Aquinas had the best scoring opportunity, hitting the post in the fifth minute. From there, Samuelson ensured the game would go into the half scoreless, making saves in the seventh and 45th minutes. Ave Maria's lone scoring chance came in the 18th minute, when a shot from Michigan native Liz Wolf was saved by Aquinas goalkeeper Kayla Shuk.
Aquinas turned up the pressure in the second half, peppering the Gyrene goal with 22 total shots and eleven shots on goal. However, Samuelson was up for the task, collecting all eleven shots that challenged her. Ave Maria managed just two shots in the final 45 minutes, which both coming in the game's final five minutes. Rachel Dalton and Lauren Brooks attempted the shots, with both attempts going wide right.
In total, Aquinas outshot the Gyrenes 29-4 on Wednesday, with a 14-1 edge in shots on goal. The Saints also had ten corner kick opportunities in the draw, while Ave Maria had just one, which was taken by Rachel Morgan in the 13th minute.
Samuelson's 13 saves set a new career-high for the Colorado native, and marked the second match this season with ten saves and no goals for Samuelson. The 13 saves moved her into second place all-time in program history with 153 career saves in just over two years. She also became the first player in school history to have three or more shutouts in consecutive seasons, after tallying five clean sheets a year ago.
Ave Maria will look to extend their unbeaten streak to three matches on Saturday, when the Gyrenes return home to take on Florida College. The match will start a stretch of five consecutive home matches for AMU, which will include the first two matches in Sun Conference play. Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Gyrene Field in Ave Maria.
