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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jesse Asanin-Miroux's goal in the 55th minute of play was all Davenport needed to claim their second ever WHAC Tournament Title and first ever berth in the NAIA National Tournament. DU defeated rival Aquinas 1-0 on the road for the tournament crown.
Davenport and Aquinas entered Saturday's WHAC Championship game after a trilling overtime game two weekends ago in the final regular season game for both teams. The Saints prevailed 4-3 in that game to claim a share of the WHAC title but it was the Panthers who got the leg up in the rivalry with the 1-0 win to advance to the NAIA National Tournament.
The first half saw very limited chances from each team as the Panthers created a great opportunity late but a header from Alex Boehm (Stevensville, Mich) just missed high and the score remained 0-0 heading into the locker room. DU outshot the Saints 7-5 but each only had one chance on net with the keeper coming up with the save both times.
Starting the second half, DU was able to possess the ball deep in the Saints end and seemed to go on top with a goal from Jesse Asanin-Miroux (Thornhill, Ontario) early but off-sides negated the shot and the Saints escaped with the score still tied 0-0.
The Panthers then finally broke through after numerous chances when Alex Boehm (Stevensville, Mich) partnered with Damian Goncalves (South Africa) to send a ball through to Asanin-Miroux who beat the AQ keeper and put Davenport on top 1-0 with 35:05 to play.
The offensive pressure continued for the Panthers as they had two more great chances but a save from the Saints' keeper and a ball that hit the cross bar kept the score at 1-0. Kevin O'Brien (Cork, Ireland) and the DU defense then stood up to the challenge in the closing minutes to preserve the victory.
O'Brien finished the game with three saves and cemented himself as the league's best defensive player by making a clutch save late to help DU claim its second tournament championship in program history. The other title came in 2005, the first year for men's soccer at Davenport.
The win extends the school record for wins in a season to 15 as DU will now turn their focus to the NAIA National Tournament. The Panthers will wait until Sunday night to find out their opening round opponent. More details will follow at www.dupanthers.com.
