The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Holy Family University in a game played through persistent rain at Spartan Field. The Spartans are now undefeated in four straight games and stand at 6-5-2 overall, with Holy Family's record moving to 5-6-5.
Holy Family got off to a tough start, which was complicated when Aiah Mbriwa picked up two yellow cards within a minute of each other and was sent off midway through the first half.
STAC controlled the game early on, recording the first eight shots of the contest, but it was the visitors who stunningly struck first. Keith Crews sent a nice pass for Tiger teammate Dan Trodden, who converted his first goal of the year on his team's first shot of the day for a 1-0 advantage at the 31:07 mark.
Rains which had swirled throughout the afternoon picked up the intensity, as did the Spartans. Just over three minutes later, a foul in the penalty area sent Michael Corbi to the penalty spot, where he hit the net for his 10th goal of the season at 34:14 to tie the score.
At that point, with lightning reported nearby in the area, the game was halted for a 40 minute delay before the teams resumed amid persistent showers. The first half ended with STAC holding a commanding 11-2 shots edge.
Despite playing with the extra attacker, the Spartans were on the heels at times in the second half, holding a narrow 6-4 shots advantage, but a scoreless 45 minutes resulted in the contest heading to overtime.
St. Thomas Aquinas pressed for the winning tally but came up empty in the extra 20 minutes, settling for the soggy tie. Aidan Tansey started in the STAC net and made four saves, while Holy Family netminder Nick Aglira was credited with 11 saves.
The Spartans return to action this Saturday, October 25, hosting Molloy College in an East Coast Conference battle. Senior Day festivities precede the 12:00 noon kickoff, and the game will be followed by the final home game of the season for the Lady Spartans, who will also host Molloy on Senior Day starting at approximately 2:30.