The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's soccer team fell to a 1-0 defeat in an East Coast Conference contest at Spartan Field. The Spartans had their four-game unbeaten streak snapped, falling to 3-2-1 overall and 0-1 in ECC action, 4-0-0, 1-0.

Both teams were stellar in a defensive first half, which saw much of the game played in the midfield area. Though Mercy held a narrow 5-3 edge in shots through 45 minutes, perhaps the best opportunity came when STAC's Lachlan Wilkinson was turned aside from in close by Mavericks goalkeeper Jordan Williams in the 41st minute as the teams remained scoreless through halftime.

Midway through the second half it was ECC Defensive Player of the Week Jack Nicholson coming up big in the Spartans net, kicking out Mariglen Verjoni's shot from inside the box and snagging the rebound attempt by Maximilliano Rebolledo-Camus in the 59th minute. Mercy began holding the territorial advantage but the battle appeared headed to a scoreless overtime when Ignacio Mangada's burst through the middle split the STAC defense, sending him in alone for what proved to be the winning tally at 79:12.

Nicholson's six saves on the afternoon was not enough as the visitors outshot STAC by a 13-7 margin on the day.

The Spartans look to get back on track with their next three games on the road, beginning with a non-conference tilt at Washington Adventist on Tuesday, September 18. After ECC matchups at Queens and Bridgeport, they return home to take on St. Anselm on Tuesday, October 2 at 3:00 pm.