Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team got back on track, earning a 3-0 shutout victory over the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Field in Sparkill.
The Spartans moved to 8-3-1 overall and 5-1 in the ECC, while Staten Island fell to 3-7-1 and 1-4 in conference play.
How it Happened
The Spartans and Dolphins would battle for possession of the ball and space on the field for the first 23 plus minutes of the match, with each squad registering three shots and STAC holding a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks.
Cole Allen would break the scoreless tie for St. Thomas Aquinas in the 24th minute on a header off of a corner kick by teammate Jorge Umana, which would find the top right corner of the net past CSI keeper Omer Hamzacebi to make it 1-0 Spartans.
STAC would take their one-goal lead into halftime, outshooting Staten Island 10-4 for the opening stanza.
Coming out of the break, the teams would trade multiple offensive opportunities, but the backends for both squads would come up strong, keeping it a one-goal match. That is, until the 78th minute, when Leonardo Osawa would send a through ball onto the foot of Anthony Bolivar Sanchez, who booted it by Omer Hamzacebi to double the STAC lead at 2-0.
The final score of the game would come in the 81st minute, as Tristan Greenidge would have his initial shot stopped by Omer Hamzacebi, only to be able retake possession of the ball and fire it home to give the Spartans a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Staten Island was unable to find any offensive success down the stretch and STAC would hold on to win 3-0 in a shutout effort.
Inside the Box Score
- Anthony Bolivar Sanchez tallied his team-leading ninth goal and 21st point of the season.
- STAC won the shot battle over the Dolphins, 21-8.
- Jose Tovar, Jorge Umana and Cole Allen each took three shots in the win.
- Asier Vegas (W, 7-2) stopped all five shots faced on the afternoon.
- Tristan Greenidge scored his first collegiate goal in the match.
Up Next
STAC will return to action next Saturday, October 23 when it travels to the University of Bridgeport for a 3pm match.