St. Ambrose falls to Mount Vernon Nazarene, beats Aquinas
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 5 St. Ambrose (1-4, 0-1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
|
Mount Vernon Nazarene (7-0, 2-0) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 5 St. Ambrose (2-4) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
|
No. 4 Aquinas (Mich.) (1-2) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
St. Ambrose split a pair of road matches over the weekend. The Bees dropped their first Heart of America conference contest to Mount Vernon Nazarene, 10-5, on Saturday but bounced back with a 10-8 win over No. 4 Aquinas on Sunday.
Mount Vernon Nazarene 10, St. Ambrose 5
After a Tyler Yetka score to begin the game, the Cougars (7-0, 2-0) went on a four-goal run to take a 4-1 lead with 5:56 to go in the second quarter. Matt Cortopassi and Makaile Shaddix scored in between an MVN goal to head into halftime down 5-3. The Cougars shut out the Bees in the third quarter while netting three goals to take an 8-3 lead heading into the final frame. Cole Danner scored back-to-back goals to make it 8-5 with 10:47 to go, but Mount Vernon would add two more for the 10-5 final.
Yetka, Danner, Michael Shakerin, and Michael Keating had assists for SAU. Ben Blankenship had a team-high five ground balls followed by Joe Campbell with four. Jack Wiltrout won seven faceoffs. Nolan Hayes made 15 saves.
St. Ambrose 10, Aquinas 8
Danner scored the game-winner for St. Ambrose on Sunday. Down 8-7 with 9:35 left in the game, Yetka scored to tie the game up at eight. Danner put the Bees ahead with 3:16 to go, and Shakerin netted a dagger to put SAU up 10-8 with less than two minutes remaining.
The Bees took an early 2-0 lead on scores from Isaiah Hahn and Keating with 8:16 on the clock in the first. Aquinas (1-2) would put one in the back of the net, but Yekta scored a man-up goal for a 3-1 lead at the end of the first. SAU was outscored 3-1 in the second period - with Keating scoring for St. Ambrose as the teams headed into the break tied at four.
The teams traded scores to begin the third, then Shaddix and Keating gave SAU a 7-5 lead with 5:38 left in the quarter. Aquinas would score late in the period to make it a one-score game heading to the final frame. The Saints netted two straight to begin the fourth to take an 8-7 lead before Yetka's goal.
Keating picked up a team-high five ground balls, and Danner collected four. Wiltrout won nine faceoffs, and Hayes made ten saves in net.
St. Ambrose will play at home for the first time this season on Thursday, March 9th. The Bees will face Madonna at 6 p.m. at the St. Vincent's Athletic Complex.