Senior goalie Aidan Hogan hangs his head after his final career game as a Tommie. Hogan had 51 career wins and 30 career shutouts.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
Senior captain Will Kidd goes for the ball in the center of the field. Kidd’s play and leadership was a vital part to success of the 2018 season.
Carly Noble (TommieMedia)
Tommie defender Sam Holton takes a moment to adjust his shin guard after a defeating loss. St.Thomas fell 1-0 to Luther College.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
Tommie players react when the buzzer sounds. The team lost to No.13 Luther College Saturday at the University of Chicago.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
Luke Horton and Sam Holton chase after the ball while holding off Norse player. The Tommies fell just short of the Elite Eight game.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
Goalie Aidan Hogan secures the ball after a diving save. Hogan was named to the All-MIAC first team for 2018.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
Forward Jake Amey battles with Norse defender. The Tommies struggled to score against the Luther defense.
Forward Luke Horton runs to the ball up front. Horton had four goals this season for the Tommies.
Carly Noble/TommieMedia
CHICAGO – The St. Thomas men’s soccer team lost Saturday at the University of Chicago to No. 13 Luther College 1-0 in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.
For the second time this season, the Tommies (16-4-2) fell to the Norse (19-3-1). St. Thomas had a tough time maintaining possession in the first half.
With the midfield battle and Luther’s strong presence in the middle third, coach Jon Lowery moved the team to play a bit more defensively to reduce Luther’s control.
The game went scoreless until the Norse’s leading scorer, forward Ben Keller, knocked in a goal in the 55th minute of play.
“I thought that game would be very tight, a softer goal for us to give up was the difference,” Lowery said. “That game should have ended 0-0 and I thought there was more soccer to be played, but credit to Luther for finding it.”
The Tommies end their season with a 16-4-2 record and graduated four seniors: Will Kidd, Aidan Hogan, Andrew Stuempfig and Walter Alvarado.
“We didn’t get this far just because we are Tommies or because we hold a name,” Alvarado said. “It comes with hard work, dedication and always committing to the team first.”
Despite the 2018 season coming to an end, the team is young and Lowery believes this shows how bright their future is.
“It was a unique season,” Lowery said. “We didn’t find anything… we didn’t win a MIAC championship, we didn’t win a MIAC playoff and we didn’t win the National Championship, but there is still something really uniquely proud of what we did.”
Carly Noble can be reached nobl1781@stthomas.edu.