Lakewood, N.J. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team fell to Georgian Court University by a final of 17-10 on Wednesday afternoon at the GCU Track & Field Complex in South Jersey.

The loss is the Spartans second straight as the team drops to 0-2 on the season. Meanwhile Georgian Court moves back to the .500 mark at 2-2.

Lucas Mullen led the STAC's offense with two goals and three assists on the afternoon, while Christian Rodriguez and John Pena each struck for a pair of goals for the maroon and gold. Cam Wallace (1 goal, 1 assist), Nathan Smith (1 goal), Lou Takacs (1 goal) and Nicola Greer (1 goal) also contributed to the Spartans totals on the score sheet. Hayden Gaudette (L, 0-2) got the start in the cage for St. Thomas Aquinas and stopped 17 of 34 shots faced, before being replaced by teammate Craig Peavy for the final seconds of the contest. Peavy faced no shots.

Meanwhile, Georgian Court was led by Brett Bridges, who tallied six goals and added a helper, while Doug Mackenzie scored five goals and Joe Zerr netted two goals and added four assists. Matt Dorrian (2 goals), Harrison Jordan (1 goal, 3 assists) and Vincent Burns (1 goal) added to the totals on the scoreboard for the Lions. Goalie Vincent Burkhart (W, 2-2) made 15 stops on 25 shots sent his way to earn his second victory in four tries.

Tied 2-2 through the midway point of the first quarter, Georgian Court rattled off five straight goals to take a 7-2 advantage. STAC stopped the Lions scoring streak with a goal but the hosts went right back on offense with three additional goals to make it 10-3. The maroon and gold closed out the first half scoring with a tally to cut the deficit to six at 10-4.

The third quarter featured the sides scoring three goals apiece, with Georgian Court maintaining their six goal advantage at 13-7. In the final stanza, the Lions and Spartans traded the first six goals, before Georgian Court added the final tally to take the 17-10 victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE: 

• Georgian Court outshot STAC 48-39 (34-25 on goal) for the match.
• Lucas Mullen and John Pena tallied a team-high six shots apiece, with four going on goal for Mullen and one reaching the net for Pena.
• Freshman Vinny Rosario gathered 12 of the Spartans 43 ground balls.
• Holden Johnston and Austin Maybee each caused a pair of Lions turnovers on the afternoon.
• STAC won 20 of 29 faceoffs, with Vinny Rosario winning 20-of-28 draws.

UP NEXT:

STAC continues its four-game season-opening road trip, visiting Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, March 1. The Spartans and Penmen will tangle in non-conference action beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Mark A. Ouellette Stadium in Hooksett, New Hampshire.