The St. Thomas football team has thrived this season thanks to its defense, which led the Pioneer Football League in a number of categories heading into Saturday’s game against the PFL-leading Davidson Wildcats.
However, the Tommies had no answer for the Wildcats’ top-ranked offense, ending its three-game winning streak as they fell 42-15 at Richardson Stadium in Davidson, North Carolina.
“Very talented Davidson team, no question about it,” coach Glenn Caruso said of the Wildcats (7-1, 6-0 PFL), who won their seventh straight game. “But the way that our guys composed themselves, handled themselves, represented the University of St. Thomas regardless of the score you would be proud if you were not hearing or listening to how our guys conducted themselves today.”
Coming into the matchup, the Tommies’ defense sat atop the PFL and ranked 11th nationally in rushing yards allowed (102). However, the Tommies couldn’t stop the Wildcats, who piled up 392 rushing yards and converted 14 of 18 opportunities on third and fourth down.
A kill by junior middle blocker Maddison Harms of the University of South Dakota in the fourth set ended the Tommies final home game of it’s inaugural Division I season 3-1 Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Summit ranked No. 9 Tommies (3-22, 2-13 Summit) extended their home losing streak to eight, while the third ranked Coyotes (15-8, 12-2 Summit) continued their five game winning streak. The last time the Tommies faced off against the Coyotes was on Oct. 6, where they lost 3-0.
“I think just all of us being on the court at once really helped. The senior leadership was definitely there in the first set and in the whole match. And it was so much fun to go out there and play with my teammates tonight,” said Egan, who ended the night with eight kills.
David Ganser, assistant coach for St. Thomas, said that he’s seen the impact of the senior leadership on the team’s underclassmen.
“We’ve talked about the Tommie way, and we’ve been emphasising that and they show us that by not just how they speak, but how they act,” Ganser said. “They’ve taken a lot of freshmen and kind of shown them that Tommie way.”
After a crushing 8-1 loss against Ohio State University Friday night, the St. Thomas women’s hockey team was unable to bounce back Saturday, finishing off the Buckeyes series with a 6-2 loss at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights.
Junior forward Luci Bianci scored her second goal of the weekend and third of the season on a shot during a partial breakaway, getting the Tommies (4-7-1, 2-7-1 WCHA) on the board towards the end of the second period. Acting head coach Bethany Brausen found “a really good response” from the team.
“It was a close game early on, which is great,” Brausen said. “I thought the girls came out and played unbelievably well.”
Natalie Hoepner can be reached at natalie.hoepner@stthomas.edu.