The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's soccer team rode Jack Hanlon's goal with 1:08 remaining to an exciting 4-3 victory in a non-conference battle at Spartan Field. The Spartans, who moved up one slot to #8 in the East in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, improved to 7-1-2 overall, while dropping New Haven to 5-4-1.

Several lead changes punctuated an exciting afternoon of soccer, startiing when STAC's Charlie Crane put a shot off the post, converted on the rebound by Michael Suflita 9:17 to put the hosts on top. Rob Poirer evened the score on a penalty kick at 13:04, and with time winding down in the first half, Alejandro Coyt-Orosco sent an artful cross to Brian Kinsella, who coralled it and finished at 40:57 to give the Spartans a 2-1 halftime edge.

New Haven claimed the lead for the first time in stunning fashion quickly after the break. Frank Norosky made a nice touch to Charger teammate Nate Peduzzi, who rocketed a shot into the top corner to tie the score again at 54:02. Just 17 seconds later, Ben Lamb made the score 3-2 on an assist from Pablo Perez.

STAC remained unfazed and a direct free kick from just outside the box resulted in a perfect shot from Crane, once again tying the score with just under 19 minutes left in regulation.

With the contest seemingly moving toward overtime, a wild scrambe in the New Haven penalty area resulted in three golden chances for the Spartans before Hanlon's header provided the finishing touch with just over a minute to play, keeping STAC unbeaten over its past six games with a 4-0-2 mark. Jack Nicholson made four saves to improve to 7-1-2, with a major assist from Brad Neal, who saved a goal by heading a New Haven shot off the goal line.

The Spartans put their first-place 3-0-2 East Coast Conference record on the line this Saturday, hosting 3-0-0 Molloy as the back end of a double-header, starting with the women's teams in action at 12:00 noon at Spartan Field.