Ettrick, Va. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team earned its first victory of the 2024 season, slipping past Virginia State University 15-13 on Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Stadium.

STAC improves to 1-1 on the season, while Virginia State slips to 0-3 on the year.

Spartans Joseph Casarella and John Pena tallied five goals apiece on the day, while teammates Matthew Drayton and Ryan Christensen both scored twice and Michael Huff added a goal for the maroon and gold.

Meanwhile, Virginia State was led by Kalani Laughlin, who netted four goals, while Devray Kirkland II, Miles Jackson, Carrington Blair and Andre Bigham all scored twice and Elijah Bryant chipped in a goal for the Trojans.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• STAC opened the first quarter scoring with a pair of goals from John Pena and Joseph Casarella to make it 2-0 Spartans.
• The host Trojans tied things at 2-2 with back-to-back goals from Miles Jackson and Elijah Bryant.
• St. Thomas Aquinas closed the scoring in the opening stanza with goals from Ryan Christensen and Joseph Casarella to give the maroon and gold a 4-2 advantage through 15 minutes of action.
• The Spartans offense continued to tally goals, as the trio of John Pena (2) and Matthew Drayton scored consecutive goals to increase the visitor's margin on the scoreboard to 7-2 with just under four minutes to play before halftime.
• Virginia State answered back before the break with a pair of goals from Carrington Blair and Devray Kirkland II to make it a 7-4 game at the half.
• Joseph Casarella, Ryan Christensen and Michael Huff opened the third quarter with a trio of goals in a little over three minutes of play for St. Thomas Aquinas to expand their lead to 10-4.
• Virginia State and St. Thomas Aquinas then traded goals with Carrington Blair and John Pena each finding the back of the net to make it an 11-5 game in favor of STAC.
• The Trojans would then go on the attack, netting the next three goals, with Devray Kirkland II and Andre Bigham (2) scoring to close the deficit to 11-8 midway through the stanza.
• Joseph Casarella and John Pena would then strike for their fourth and fifth goals of the afternoon respectively to make it 13-8 Spartans.
• Virginia State's Miles Jackson lit the lamp in the final 95 seconds of the third frame to close the scoring and narrow their disadvantage to 13-9.
• In the final quarter, the Trojans would put on a furious rally, outscoring STAC 4-2 in the stanza, as Kalani Laughlin tallied all four scores. However Joseph Casarella's fifth goal of the game, along with Matthew Drayton's second of the day kept things in check and allowed the Spartans to walk away with a two-goal victory, 15-13.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• STAC outshot Virginia State 46-35 (31-28 on goal) for the game.
• John Pena tallied a game-high 11 shots (nine on goal) for the Spartans.
• Austin Palen gathered nine of the Spartans 27 ground balls in the match.
• John Morris caused a team-high three turnovers on the afternoon.
• Austin Palen won 15-of-28 faceoffs for the maroon and gold.
• Goalie Craig Peavy (W, 1-1) stopped 15 of 28 shots faced over 60 minutes of action.

UP NEXT:

STAC wraps it season-opening three-game road trip in Springfield, Massachusetts, visiting American International College on Saturday, February 17. The Spartans and Yellow Jackets will square off at 1:00 p.m. at Ronald J. Abdow Field.