R3 2023 | Seniors at Aquinas

Defender Zac Smooker celebrating his 150th game. Image courtesy of Jim Wilson.

Coming off a losing start to the season, MHSOB pushed to kickstart their year by taking on the 1-1 Aquinas.

They set the tone early, with early majors from Matthew Periera and Hugh Radcliffe Smith, but most telling was the stifling work being done on the back end, restricting Aquinas to just 4 points at the first break, a 16-point lead.

This was strengthened in the second quarter, as superb defensive efforts from Zac Smooker in his 150th game, and inspired work from prodigal son & former captain Tim Campelj were complimented by a firing forward line, in particular a special mark from Will ‘Hops’ Hellier, as a 40-point lead was creed going into the half.

To their credit, Aquinas came out a more determined side in the third term and managed to slow down our offense to shade us in the quarter. 

However, the Unicorns didn’t look back, and stayed steady to cement their first win of the season with a 31-point victory, capped off with a five-goal performance from key forward Matthew Pereira.

Final Scores: MHSOB: 13.7-85 defeated Aquinas: 7.12-54

Goal Kickers: M. Pereira 5, H. Radcliffe-Smith 4, W. Hellier 2, J. Eimutis, J. Lawson

Best Players: Z. Smooker, M. Pereira, T. Campelj, W. Hellier, H. Radcliffe-Smith, J. Eimutis