LIVONIA, Mich. - Atjon Thaqi broke a scoreless tie in the 38th minute, and Olivet Nazarene pulled away after halftime to defeat Madonna 5-0 on Sept. 23. The Tigers scored four second-half goals, including two from Pablo Ortiz Suarez, while goalkeeper Jacob Robinson stopped all five of the Crusaders' shots on goal.
Madonna created early chances before Thaqi's decisive goal. Pedro Zucchi put the Crusaders' first attempt on target at 6:48, and Daniel Watkins forced another Robinson save at 17:01. Thaqi then opened the scoring at 37:30, giving Olivet Nazarene a 1-0 advantage that held through halftime.
Ortiz Suarez doubled the lead at 49:00, but Madonna had an immediate opportunity to answer. Watkins stepped to the penalty spot at 50:18, only for Robinson to make the save. David Hernandez scored from Thaqi's assist at 53:48, and Gustavo Nunez extended the margin to 4-0 in the 66th minute.
The Crusaders continued pushing forward despite the deficit. Watkins tested Robinson again at 63:55, and Lucas Schoenberger struck the post less than four minutes later on Madonna's closest open-play chance of the second half. Watkins finished with four shots and three on goal, while Zucchi and Kaito Hashimoto each recorded an attempt on target. Schoenberger and Cynric Jacob added two shots apiece.
Madonna goalkeeper Oier Mendizabal made seven saves while playing the full 90 minutes against an Olivet Nazarene attack that produced 24 shots and 12 on goal. The Crusaders finished with 13 shots and four corner kicks. Ortiz Suarez completed the scoring at 89:16 on an assist from Yaw Frimpong, securing Robinson's five-save shutout.
Madonna will be back in action on Saturday, September 26, 2026 when they play Rochester Christian University at 3:30 PM.
