Sparkill, N.Y. - Kevon Evans' game winning tally on a penalty kick in the 89th minute, broke a 2-2 tie and gave the senior forward a hat-trick, as the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team slipped past Goldey-Beacom College, 3-2 on Thursday afternoon in the program's 2024 season opener at Spartan Field.
STAC moves to 1-0 on the season, while Goldey-Beacom falls to 0-1. The win is also the first for new head coach Edison Sanchez Aviles.
Johan Morales got his first start between the pipes for the maroon and gold, and turned aside two of three shots faced in a little over 60 minutes of action. Teammate Dalton Houser (W, 1-0) came on in relief of Morales for the 29 plus minutes, stopping two of three shots directed on frame to earn the victory. On the other end of the field, Jamel Yasin (L, 0-1) went the distance, turning away six of nine shots faced.
How it Happened
60th Minute - Tiwalade Ogunfadebo raced up the sideline and sent a pass cross field to Emanuel Bustos who tucked a shot inside of the right post, behind Johan Morales to make it 1-0 Goldey-Beacom.
61st Minute - Moments later, Elias Ait Bouali set up Kevon Evans' first goal by taking the ball from the Lightning and slipping a pass up field to a breaking Evans who went one-on-one with Jamel Yasin and put a shot to the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.
63rd Minute - A Spartans' turnover led to Lucas Fernandes corralling the ball and firing a shot on net, beating Dalton Houser to put Goldey-Beacom back in front, 2-1.
70th Minute - This time a Lightning turnover would lead to a Yahir Hernandez feed directly to the foot of Kevon Evans, who knotted the score at 2-2 on his second of the day.
89th Minute - In the final minutes of action, Evans was sent a through ball, and he would have time and space to attempt a shot, but before that could happen, he was taken down by the Goldey-Beacom defense inside of the penalty area, forcing the officials to call a penalty kick. Kevon would complete the hat-trick and give the Spartans their first lead of the game with a blast to the middle of the net, beating keeper Jamel Yasin to make it 3-2 with just over 90 seconds to play.
Inside the Box Score
- STAC outshot Goldey-Beacom 16-12 (9-6 on goal), while the hosts also earned a 6-2 corner kicks advantage over the Lightning.
- Kevon Evans tallied his first career hat-trick as a Spartan in Thursday's match.
- Evans also registered a game-high eight shots in the contest, with five going on frame.
- A very feisty non-conference affair saw the Spartans and Lightning combine for 27 fouls and six yellow cards.
Up Next
STAC heads to South Jersey for a mid-week, non-conference matchup with Georgian Court University on Wednesday, September 11. Kickoff between the Spartans and Lions is set for 3:00 p.m. at Investors Savings Bank Field in Lakewood, N.J.