Bridgeport, Conn. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team made the trek to Connecticut on Wednesday for a midweek, non-conference matchup with the University of Bridgeport. Despite holding a 2-0 advantage in the opening minutes of the contest, the Spartans saw their hosts score six straight goals and outscore them nine to three for the half, en route to a 17-8 loss to the Purple Knights.
STAC slips to 2-7 overall, while Bridgeport moves to 4-6.
Lucas Mullen and Vinny Rosario led the Spartans' offense with two goals apiece on the afternoon. Teammates Cam Wallace, Max Benoit, John Pena and Jeremy Schucker also contributed to the cause by tallying a goal each for the visitors. Goalie Hayden Gaudette (L, 2-6) got the start between the pipes for the maroon and gold and stopped 10 of 19 shots faced in the first half. Craig Peavy saw action in the second half and turned aside 7 of 15 shots propelled his way.
Meanwhile, Bridgeport was led by James Napoili, who racked up a ten-point day with five goals and five assists. Ashton Lankowski tallied three goals, while James Goodrich and Stephen Trama scored a pair of goals and added an assist apiece for the Purple Knights. Additionally, Kevin Dromm (2 goals), Hunter Lizza (1 goal, three assists), Matthew Levantini (1 goal, 2 assists) and Luciano Canino (1 goal) added to the totals on the scoreboard for the hosts. Netminder Casey Dmochowski (W, 4-6) turned aside 8 of 13 shots faced over three quarters to earn the win. Teammate Trevor Cannata saw action in the final stanza and stopped 5 of 8 shots.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Bridgeport outshot STAC 52-29 (34-21 on goal) for the game.
- Lucas Mullen tallied a team-high five shots, with four going on net for St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Vinny Rosario and Austin Palen each gathered five of the Spartans 27 ground balls.
- Nathan Smith, Frank Schaefer and Tyler Shertzer each caused a Purple Knights turnover on the afternoon.
- STAC won 16 of 29 faceoffs, with Vinny Rosario winning 10 of 16 draws and Austin Palen securing 6 of 13.
UP NEXT:
STAC hosts Virginia State University in a non-conference matchup at Spartan Field. Due to the threat of inclement weather, the game will now be played on Sunday, April 13 at 12:00 p.m.