The St. Thomas Aquinas College Field Hockey team picked up their first-ever victory as Associate Members of the Northeast-10 Conference, a 5-3 triumph over Saint Michael's College at Spartan Field on Saturday afternoon.
In the first quarter, St. Thomas Aquinas jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on the strength of Briannah Thorne's fifth of the season a little over a minute into the contest. Lisa Larsson then followed that up with her third of the season approximately five and a half minutes later on a great pass by Kaylee Pistner to make it 2-0 for the maroon and gold. Although no futher scoring took place by either team in the first frame, the Spartans continued their offensive pressure, which kept the ball mostly in the Purple Knights end of the field.
Second quarter action was a seesaw affair, which saw Saint Michael's quickly tie the game at two on back-to-back goals by MaKayla Foster (17:40) and Maggie Daley (21:39). However, within moments the Spartans would regain the lead when Lisa Larsson would tally her fourth of the season and second of the game, making it 3-2 STAC. Four minutes later, Jade Hall found the back net for her first of the campaign to extend the lead back to a two goal advantage at 4-2 just before the halftime buzzer.
After an offensive outburst by both squads in the second quarter, the third quarter was largely quiet, with both squads trading a bevy of penalty corners. STAC's Briannah Thorne failed to convert on a penalty stroke, as Purple Knights goalie Talia Torkomian made a great save to keep things at 4-2 in favor of the Spartans after three.
The Teams traded goals in the fourth and final quarter of action, as Briannah Thorne tallied her second of the game and sixth of the season when she was awarded a penalty stroke with just under ten minutes remaining in the contest to push the score to 5-2 for St. Thomas Aquinas. Jenna Puleo would take the advantage back to two goals at 5-3, as Puleo picked up her second of the season with just over three minutes to go in the game. However, there would be no rally for Saint Michael's, as STAC took possession of the ball and kept it in the Purple Knights end of the field to run out the clock for the victory.
Suzanne Clarke (1 save) and Jessie Hohenstein (W, 1-0/4 Saves) split time in the STAC cage, while Anna Hurley (L, 0-7/3 Saves) and Talia Torkomian (9 saves) did the same for Saint Michael's.
The Spartans had a 20-11 shots advantage, while the Purple Knights held a 18-13 edge on penalty corners.
St. Thomas Aquinas College (3-4) will have a quick turnaround, as they will host Assumption College at Spartan Field on Sunday, September 29th. Gametime is set for 1pm.