Murfreesboro, N.C. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team kicked off its 2024 season on the road Saturday afternoon, facing off with Chowan University in North Carolina. The host Hawks tallied five third quarter goals en route to a 13-8 victory over the Spartans.

STAC moves to 0-1 on the season, while Chowan improves to 1-1 on the year.

Freshman Joseph Casarella (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) led the Spartans' offense with four goals, while senior Reno Molina (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), junior John Pena (Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomores Jeremy Poggi (Center Reach, N.Y.) and Ryan Christensen (Old Bridge, N.J.) also contributed to the maroon and gold scoring with a goal apiece on the day.

Meanwhile, Chowan was led by Erik Dozzi who tallied six goals and added four helpers, while Eric George added four goals and four assists and Jacob Malia scored three goals and added an assist. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Chowan opened the scoring with a pair of first quarter goals by Eric George and Erik Dozzi to make it 2-0 through the first 15 minutes of action.
• STAC got themselves on the scoreboard four minutes into the second stanza via Joseph Casarella's first of the afternoon with Michael Huff getting the helper to make it 2-1.
• Three straight goals by the Hawks opened a four-goal margin for the hosts, with Jacob Malia and Erik Dozzi (2) netting scores to put Chowan ahead 5-1 at the halftime break.
• The Spartans cut their deficit to 5-2 on a John Pena tally early in the third quarter with Michael Huff picking up his second assist of the day.
• Chowan quickly answered the Pena goal with one of their own, courtesy of Erik Dozzi to make it 6-2.
• St. Thomas Aquinas got within two, at 6-4 with goals from Ryan Christensen and Jeremy Poggi in the middle of the frame.
• Four consecutive goals by the Hawks, with Eric George (2), Eric Dozzi and Jacob Malia all adding to the scoreboard totals, gave Chowan a commanding 10-4 advantage through three quarters of play.
• In the final quarter, the Spartans and Hawks traded seven goals, with the maroon and gold receiving scoring from Reno Molina and a hat-trick from Joseph Casarella, while Jacob Malia, Eric Dozzi and Eric George all found the back of the net for Chowan to close the scoring to make it a 13-8 final.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• STAC outshot Chowan 41-31 (23-21 on goal) for the game.
• Joseph Casarella tallied a game-high nine shots (five on goal) for the Spartans.
• Austin Palen gathered six of the Spartans 33 ground balls in the match.
• Reno Molina caused three turnovers on the afternoon.
• Austin Palen won 12-of-24 faceoffs for the maroon and gold.
• Goalie Craig Peavy (L, 0-1) stopped 8 of 21 shots faced in 60 minutes of action.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas makes its way back to New York, first stopping off in Ettrick, Virginia to take on Virginia State University on Monday, February 12. The Spartans and Trojans will do battle at Rogers Stadium beginning at noon.