Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Lacrosse team hit the road for a Wednesday afternoon East Coast Conference matchup with Molloy University at the RVC Sports Complex on Long Island. A thirteen-goal outburst in the first half helped the host Lions take and maintain control of the match from start to finish in a 21-4 victory over the Spartans.

STAC slips to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in ECC play, while Molloy moves to 5-8 and 2-2.

Clemence Papleux (1 assist) and Jada Garcia led the Spartans' offense with two goals apiece. Goalie Lilah Magenheimer (L, 2-6) got the start between the pipes for the maroon and gold and turned aside 14 of 35 shots faced.

Meanwhile, Molloy was led by Emma Brazier, who tallied seven goals, while Jenna Italiano scored four times and added three helpers, Brooke Grossjung (1 assist) and Peyton Naus each netted hat tricks. Teammates Ava Beasutti (1 goal, 2 assists), Sam Cassaro (1 goal, 1 assist), Ryleigh Zamora (1 goal, 1 assist), and Cameron Thompson (1 goal) also added to the totals on the scoreboard for the Lions. Goalie Samantha Heuer (W, 3-4), made 2 saves on 3 shots fired in her direction in the first half to earn the victory. Fellow netminder Nicole Schaumloeffel saw action in the final 30 minutes and stopped 1 of 4 shots.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Molloy set the tone early, scoring the game's first four goals and building a 7–1 lead by the end of the opening quarter. St. Thomas Aquinas got on the board midway through the opening stanza when Jada Garcia finished a feed from Clemence Papleux, but the Lions responded with a sustained offensive surge.

The hosts added six more goals in the second quarter to take a 13–1 advantage into halftime, led by multi-goal efforts from Emma Brazier and Jenna Italiano. Molloy continued its momentum out of the break, opening the third quarter with five straight goals to extend the margin to 18–1.

STAC showed resilience in the second half. Papleux scored twice, including an strike via the feed a feed from Jade Gorman late in the third and unassisted tally early in the fourth, while Garcia added her second goal of the game off an assist from Jade Gorman. 

Despite the late push, Molloy closed out the game with three of the final four goals, including a pair of player-up tallies in the final minutes to secure the 21–4 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Molloy outshot STAC 42-16 (35-7 on goal) for the game.
• Clemence Papleux tallied a team-high six shots for the Spartans, with two going on net.
• Papleux, Brianna Cote and Victoria Calabro each caused a Lions turnover in the match.
• Clemence Papleux scooped up three of the Spartans 12 total ground balls.
• STAC won 7 of 23 draw controls, with Papleux winning six.

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