Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team saw its second half comeback fall short as the College of Saint Rose came away with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Spartan Field. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the second half, the Spartans were able to limit the Golden Knights through the final 24 minutes and halved their deficit with a goal by Anthony Bolivar Sanchez in the 74th minute.
Saint Rose struck for the match's first goal in the third minute, as Nick Koenig was awarded a free kick off of a foul by STAC. Koenig would blast a shot from 30 yards out that would find the inside of the net just under the crossbar to make it 1-0.
The one-goal lead would hold true through the final 42 minutes of first half action, despite the Spartans outshooting the Golden Knights 5-3, with several quality scoring opportunities in the stanza.
After the halftime break, the teams would keep play mostly to midfield, with few opportunities through the first 20 minutes of the new frame. Saint Rose's second goal would come in the 66th minute when Tylan Mulcahy danced around several STAC players to feed a pass to Josh Elliott who blasted a shot past keeper Tabor McDaniels to double the visitor's lead at 2-0.
On its heels after going down by two goals, St. Thomas Aquinas realized it was time to turn up the offensive pressure if they wanted any shot at getting back into the game. The maroon and gold registered the next four shots with two going high on the net and two getting stopped by keeper Tomas Rozman. Anthony Bolivar Sanchez finally broke the shutout in the 74th minute, putting a shot off of a free kick to the back of the cage, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
STAC had a new found sense of confidence following the Bolivar Sanchez goal and cranked up the pressure even more on Saint Rose, recording an additional three scoring chances, while earning four corner kicks in the final 16 minute of the match. However, those opportunities would be stopped by the Golden Knights defense and goaltending to preserve the slim one-goal margin of victory.
Inside the Box Score
- St. Thomas Aquinas outshot Saint Rose 13-5 and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
- Anthony Bolivar Sanchez picked up the lone Spartans tally, his second goal on the season.
- Tabor McDaniels (L, 1-3-1) earned the start between the sticks for STAC.
Up Next
STAC (4-4-3, 0-2-2 ECC) makes the short trip across the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to face Mercy College on Saturday, October 8. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Dobbs Ferry.