The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's soccer team outgunned Mercy College by a 5-2 count in an East Coast Conference showdown at Spartan Field. The Spartans, ranked #9 in last week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) East Regional Poll, are now unbeaten in their last five straight (3-0-2), improving to 6-1-2 overall with a 3-0-2 conference mark. Mercy suffered its third straight loss, falling to 6-3-1, 2-3-0.

STAC pressed the early advantage, yet the teams remained scoreless midway through the first half. That changed when Luis Morales converted his first of two on the day from Chris Estevez at 24:13 to put the hosts on top. Just under three minutes later, Brad Neal expanded the lead off a feed from Alejandro Coyt-Orozco, and that same tandem combined at 38:46 to give the Spartans a big 3-0 advantage at halftime.

Mercy regrouped at the break and Manuel Achondo's tally gave the Mavericks life at the 49:01 mark to cut the gap to 3-1. That score would hold until 72:42, when Santiago Corral caused some anxious moments with his marker cutting the hosts' lead to just one.

STAC would respond quickly, however, as Neal and Coyt-Orozco would combine for the third time on the afternoon, with Neal's fifth of the season at 74:57 giving the Spartans some breathing room at 4-2. With time winding down, Morales' eighth of the season put the finishing touches on the victory, with Jack Nicholson earning the win in net in a game which saw STAC outshoot the Mavericks by an 18-10 margin.

With the midway point of the conference slate behind them, the Spartans look to continue their hold on first place in the ECC standings. They will host the University of New Haven in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday, October 5 at 3:00 pm before Molloy College pays a visit to Sparkill on Saturday, October 8, for a 2:00 pm kickoff.