Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Field Hockey team won its second straight match on Sunday afternoon toppling Saint Michael's College, 4-1 at Spartan Field.

STAC improves to 3-11 overall and 3-6 within the Northeast-10 Conference, while Saint Michael's falls to 2-11 and 2-6.

Prior to the contest, the Spartans honored its graduating class; Erin Bacalles, Adriana Alfisi, Olivia Cerbo and Sofia Corominas Cuen with on-field ceremonies, which included the athletes' families, friends, teammates, coaches and college administrators.

Once the pregame festivities concluded, the maroon and gold got down to business, as Adriana Alfisi tallied her team-leading eighth goal of the season, while also tying teammate Nicola Van Vuuren for that honor. Sarah Paraskos and Madelyn Verstraten each scored the first goals of their respective collegiate careers, while Sofia Corominas Cuen capped things with her second goal of the season.

Carlijn De Groot got the start in goal for St. Thomas Aquinas and earned her second victory in nine decisions, stopping eight of nine shots faced in 60 minutes of action.

How it Happened

• 6th Minute: Off of a restart on a foul, the Spartans snaked their way to the net with Nicola Van Vuuren sending an initial high shot on Saint Michael's goalie Riley O'Connor, which was blockered away. Olivia Cerbo then corralled the rebound and sent a soft pass toward the net to be tipped over the goal line by Adriana Alfisi to make it 1-0 STAC.
• 9th Minute: Moments later, Van Vuuren sent a cross-field attempt into the shooting circle, which was tracked and kicked away by Riley O'Connor. However, the ball found the stick Sarah Paraskos, who fired a shot to the back of the cage to give double the Spartans lead at 2-0.
• 18th Minute: A penalty corner insert by Katelyn Cerrato found the stick of Sofia Corominas Cuen, who played a little give and go with Erin Bacalles. Bacalles returned the favor and slid a pass to a wide open Corominas Cuen who sent a shot past O'Connor at the right post to give the maroon and gold a commanding 3-0 lead.
• 37th Minute: STAC marched up the near sideline with Sofia Corominas Cuen leading the charge. Corominas Cuen sent a pass to the middle of the field inside of the shooting circle, finding Madelyn Verstraten who deked goalie Riley O'Connor and deposited the ball to the back of the net, making it 4-0.
• 51st Minute: The visiting Purple Knights broke the shutout late in the contest, as Morgan Cathcart's penalty corner insert would make its way to Bridgie Loughlin who ripped a shot past goalie STAC goalie Carlijn De Groot to cut the deficit to 4-1.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Michael's outshot STAC 15-11 in the match, and also earned a 16-7 penalty corners advantage over the Spartans.
• Adriana Alfisi and Nicola Van Vuuren registered three shots apiece on the afternoon.

Up Next

STAC hits the road for its next three matches, first visiting Mercy University on Wednesday, October 18. The NE10 tilt between the Spartans and Mavericks gets underway at 3:00 p.m. in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.