Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team snapped a five-game losing streak on Sunday with a 16-7 triumph over Virginia State University at Spartan Field.
STAC moves to 3-7 on the season, while Virginia State falls to 3-10.
Cam Wallace led the STAC's offense with five goals on the afternoon, while Nathan Thomas, Nicola Greer and Austin Maybee each struck for a pair of goals and added an assist for the maroon and gold. Lou Takacs (2 goals), Christian Rodriguez (1 goal, 6 assists), John Pena (1 goal, 3 assists), and Nathan Smith (1 goal) also contributed to the Spartans totals. Hayden Gaudette (W, 3-6) got the start in between the pipes for St. Thomas Aquinas and stopped 8 of 10 shots faced in the first half to earn his third victory of the year. Teammate Craig Peavy saw action in net for the second half of the contest and turned aside 11 of 16 shots propelled his way.
On the other side of the field, Virginia State was led by Andre Bigham, who tallied two goals and added a helper, while Elijah Bryant scored two goals. Donovan Elmore (1 goal, 1 assist), Kalani Laughlin (1 goal) and Miles Jackson (1 goal) added to the totals on the scoreboard for the Trojans. Goalie Jace Wiggins (L, 3-10) went the distance for VSU made 26 stops on 42 shots fired in his direction.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
STAC posted a 5-0 first quarter lead on the strength of goals from Nicola Greer, Cam Wallace (2), Lou Takacs and Christian Rodriguez. The scoring continued for the maroon and gold to start the second stanza as Wallace tallied a hat trick goal, followed by a John Pena strike to make it 7-0 for the hosts. Virginia state would break the goose egg on the scoreboard with a pair of goals from Miles Jackson and Andre Bigham to close their deficit to 7-2. However, the Spartans would receive goals from Lou Takacs, Nathan Thomas and Nathan Smith to close out the opening half with a commanding 10-2 advantage.
When the teams returned to the field for the third quarter, Austin Maybee would net a goal for STAC to make it an 11-2 lead. The visiting trojans would again score consecutive goals, courtesy of Kalani Laughlin and Andre Bigham to close to within 11-4, but the Spartans added two goals of their own in the final minutes of the frame via Cam Wallace and Nicola Greer to push the advantage to 13-4. In the final 15 minutes if action, the sides tallied three goals apiece, with Elijah Bryant (2) and Donovan Elmore scoring for the Trojans, and Nathan Thomas, Austin Maybee and Cam Wallace finding the back of the net for the Spartans to close things out at 16-7.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- STAC outshot Virginia State 57-37 (42-26 on goal) for the match.
- Christian Rodriguez tallied a team-high 10 shots, with eight going on goal.
- Vinny Rosario gathered seven of the Spartans 56 ground balls.
- Tyler Shertzer each caused four Trojans turnovers on the afternoon.
- STAC won 18 of 24 faceoffs, with Vinny Rosario winning 11-of-11 draws and Austin Palen capturing 7-of-13.
UP NEXT:
STAC visits Molloy University on Wednesday, April 16 for an ECC matchup at the RVC Sports Complex on Long Island. Opening faceoff between the Spartans and Lions is set for 7:00 p.m.