Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Field Hockey team closed its 2022 regular season schedule, falling to Assumption University 2-1 on Friday afternoon at Spartan Field.

STAC slips to 10-8 overall and 8-5 in the NE10, while Assumption improves to 14-4 and 11-2. Both teams will advance to the Northeast-10 Women's Field Hockey Tournament, which begins on Tuesday, November 15 at higher seeds.

Nicola Van Vuuren tallied the Spartans lone goal in the match, as Madelyn Verstraten (L, 0-1) got the start in the cage and made five saves on seven shots faced, with regular netminders Jessie Hohenstein and Madeline Schaefer both sidelined with injuries.

How it Happened

• Under less than ideal conditions due to the heavy rains from Tropical Depression Nicole, the Spartans and Greyhounds opened play with the visitors controling play for the first nine plus minutes of action. 
• However, on the heels of six consecutive penalty corners, STAC finally broke through in the 11th minute as Hailey Galison sent an insert to Jasmijn Van Drunen on one of those corners. The Bilthoven, Netherlands native would the find teammate Nicola Van Vuuren, who fired a laser past Assumption goalie Kylie Gargiulo to take a 1-0 lead.
• In the 22nd minute, the Greyhounds tied things up at one goal apiece, as Chloe Kaeller sent a shot to the net from the near sideline, finding the stick of teammate Christina Leonard for a tip-in tally past Madelyn Verstraten.
• Neither side got onto the scoresheet again in the remaining moments of the first half, as the teams retreated to their respective benches with the game knotted up at 1-1. Assumption held a 6-4 shots advantage through 30 minutes, while STAC held the 7-4 edge in penalty corners.
• The game-winning goal came early on in the third quarter, when the Greyhounds were awarded a penalty stroke. Lucy Malia was tasked with taking the stroke opportunity and converted with a high shot, beating Verstraten stick-side to take the 2-1 advantage.
• Despite several terrific scoring opportunities by the Spartans in the final 18 minutes of play, the Greyhounds protected their lead and went on to take the one-goal victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Nicola Van Vuuren's first quarter tally was her tenth goal of the season.
• The Spartans and Greyhounds each registered 10 shots in the match, with STAC earning an 11-7 advantage in penalty corners.
• STAC's 10 total shots in the contest came from Van Vuuren (3), Floortje Beune (2), Jasmijn Van Drunen (1), Sam Van Der Valk (1), Kelly Johnson (1), Sofia Corominas Cuen (1) and Olivia Cerbo (1).

Up Next

St. Thomas Aquinas College awaits its next opponent for the Northeast-10 Field Hockey Tournament, which begins on Tuesday, November 15 at higher seeds.