Sparkill, N.Y. - Rafael Capella's first career collegiate goal in the 74th minute broke a 1-1 tie and propelled the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over D'Youville University on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Field.

The win improves the Spartans' record to 6-1-2 overall and 1-0-2 in ECC play, while D'Youville falls to 2-6-2 and 0-2-1.

Sean Burke tallied the lone goal for the visiting Saints, as goalkeeper Matthew Solorio (L, 2-6-2) stopped 8 of 10 shots faced for D'Youville.

Meanwhile, Jalen Moni and the aforementioned Capella scored a goal apiece for the Spartans, while keeper Johan Morales (W, 2-0-2) made eight stops on nine shots for St. Thomas Aquinas.

How it Happened

27th Minute: A turnover by a STAC defender, to the middle of the box, allowed a wide open Sean Burke to claim possession of the ball for the visitors and fire a shot by keeper Johan Morales to give D'Youville the 1-0 lead.

70th Minute: Down a goal, and a man due to a double yellow card infraction to one of the Spartans, Kevon Evans led the offensive rush upfield and sent a feed across the front of the net, finding teammate Jalen Moni at the right post for the easy tap-in past goalie Matthew Solorio to tie the match at 1-1.

74th Minute: Moments later, Moni was leading another maroon and gold offensive push and was tripped up at the top of the 18 by a Saints defender, leading to a free kick opportunity. Rafael Capella was tasked with trying to break the stalemate on the scoreboard and did just that, bending a boot just inside the left post, beating Solorio to give the Spartans the 2-1 advantage.

Inside the Box Score

• STAC outshot D'Youville 20-18 (10-9 on goal), while the hosts also earned an 8-2 corner kicks advantage over the Saints.
• Kevon Evans registered a match-high seven shots in the contest, with four going on frame. Teammate Uhunoma Fredrick-Ilekhuoba recorded six shots and was able to get three to reach the net.
• Rafael Capella tallied his first goal as a member of the Spartans in Saturday's ECC matchup.
• The spirited contest kept the officiating crew busy, as the sides were whistled for 34 total fouls (18-16 STAC) and 10 yellow cards (6-4 D'Youville).

Up Next

STAC hosts Bloomsburg University in a non-conference match on Wednesday, October 9 at Spartan Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.