Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team held a lead through the majority of the second half on Saturday afternoon against Molloy University, but the Spartans gave up the tying goal in the closing minutes of the contest, leaving the sides deadlocked at 2-2 through 90 minutes at Spartan Field.
STAC moves to 6-4-3 overall and 1-1-3 in ECC action, while Molloy goes to 4-5-4 and 2-0-3.
Prior to the match, the Spartans honored its graduating senior class; Christopher Adadevoh, Cole Allen, George Stephenson, Uhunoma Fredrick-Ilekhuoba, Gino Gandzior and Kevon Evans with on-field ceremonies, which included the athletes' families, friends, teammates, coaches and college administrators.
Nick Leon and Mathew Broadhead each tallied second half goals for the host Lions, as goalkeeper Callum Hunt (T, 4-3-4) stopped three of five shots faced for Molloy.
Meanwhile, Kevon Evans became the all-time leading goal scorer in program history with his first half tally, while Maziko Jiya struck for this third of the year for the Spartans. Keeper Johan Morales (T, 2-3-3) also made three stops on five shots for St. Thomas Aquinas.
How it Happened
28th Minute: Kevon Evans got the scoring started on the afternoon by taking a through ball from teammate Mika Leue at midfield. Dancing around several defenders, Evans finally sent a low blast from just outside the box past a diving Callum Hunt and inside the right post to make it 1-0 STAC. For Evans it is his team-leading 11th goal of the season and 32nd of his Spartan Career, setting a new program mark for goals scored while wearing the maroon and gold.
31st Minute: The Spartans doubled their lead at 2-0, when Kevon Evans won a ball possession battle against the Lions and sent a feed to the foot of Maziko Jiya for the strike that went by Hunt and to the back of the onion bag.
64th Minute: Molloy got themselves onto the scoreboard via a corner kick by Charlie Morgan, which was initally punched out by keeper Johan Morales. The rebound then found the foot of Nick Leon who fired a shot back at the net, beating Morales at the left post to cut the deficit to 2-1.
87th Minute: The visiting Lions tied the score on another corner kick by Charlie Morgan, which found the head of Mathew Broadhead as he was knocked to the ground. The ball then went between several STAC and Molloy players, untouched, and went by Morales and to the back of the net to even the match at 2-2.
Inside the Box Score
- STAC outshot Molloy 14-8, while each team was able to put five shots on target.
- The visiting Lions held a slim 7-4 corner kicks advantage over the Spartans on the afternoon.
- Kevon Evans registered a match-high four shots in the contest, with one going on frame and to the back of the net for his milestone goal.
- A contenious match throughout, the officials whistled the sides for 29 total fouls (15-14 Molloy) and nine total yellow cards (5-4 Molloy).
Up Next
STAC heads to Washington D.C. on Wednesday, October 23 for an ECC bout with the University of the District of Columbia. Kickoff between the Spartans and Firebirds is set for 3:00 p.m.