Sparkill, N.Y. -  The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's lacrosse team suffered an 18-12 defeat at the hands of D'Youville University, in a hard fought battle at Spartan Field on Sunday afternoon.

STAC slips to 4-10 overall and 1-3 in ECC play, while D'Youville improves to 5-9 and 2-2.

Prior to the contest between the Spartans and Saints, STAC honored its graduating senior class; Annavictoria Mazariegos, Olivia Cerbo and Katelyn Cerrato with on-field ceremonies, which included their teammates, families, coaches and college administrators.

When the teams got down to business on the turf, Ella Entress led the Spartans' offense with four goals on the afternoon, while Hailey Galison tallied three goals and three assists. Teammates Arianna Tribble (2 goals, 1 assist), Charlotte Luquer (2 goals) and Katelyn Cerrato (1 goal, 3 assists) also added to the hosts totals on the scoreboard. Goalie Lilah Magenheimer (L, 4-10) got the start in the cage for the maroon and gold and stopped 7 of 25 shots faced.

Meanwhile, D'Youville was paced by Madison Handley with seven goals and two assists. Madison Buck added six goals and three helpers, while Sam Newlin tallied three goals and an assist.  Jillian Bernas (1 goal, 2 assists) and Danielle Gephart (1 goal, 1 assist) also added to the stat sheet for the Saints. Goalie Brinn Stworzydlak (W, 5-9) made seven saves to help secure the victory for the visitors from Buffalo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• D'Youville opened the ECC contest, scoring four straight goals, courtesy of Madison Buck, Madison Handley and Danielle Gephart to hold a 4-0 advantage.
• The Spartans responded with three consecutive goals, as Ella Entress and Arianna Tribble (2) hit the back of the net with shots to cut the deficit to 4-3.
• Madison Handley's hat-trick goal before the close of the first quarter extended the Saints lead to 5-3 through the first 15 minutes of action.
• D'Youville opened the second stanza, much like the first, with Madison Handley and Jilian Bernas to push the visitor's lead to 7-3.
• Both sides would then trade a pair of goals each, with Hailey Galison and Ella Entress scoring for STAC and Madison Buck and Sam Newlin tallying for DYU. The Saints would remain in the lead 9-5.
• Madison Handley and Sam Newlin would close out the first half scoring for D'Youville with back-to-back goals to make it 11-5.
• A goal by Katelyn Cerrato in the waning seconds before halftime, cut the Spartans deficit to five at 11-6 at the break.
• Another two-goal outburst by the Saints kicked off yet another stanza, as Madison Handley put D'Youville up 13-6 with a pair of goals.
• Hailey Galison and Ella Entress (2) then responded for the maroon and gold with three straight scores to make it a four-goal deficit at 13-9.
• DYU and STAC then traded goals via Madison Buck and Charlotte Luquer to bump the score to 14-10 in favor of the visitors.
• Madison Buck's consecutive goals to end the third quarter gave D'Youville a six-goal advantage at 16-10 with one frame left to play.
• STAC would kickoff the fourth quarter with back-to-back tallies from Hailey Galison and Charlotte Luquer to make it a 16-12 game. However, that would be all of the offensive output the Spartans would muster for the remainder of the match.
• Sam Newlin and Madison Buck would add insurance markers late to seal the victory for D'Youville at 18-12.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• D'Youville outshot STAC 38-27 (25-19 on goal) for the game.
• Hailey Galison tallied a team-high seven shots (five on goal) for the maroon and gold.
• Galison also scooped up ten of the Spartans 24 ground balls and caused two Saints turnovers in the match
• The sides won 16 draw controls apiece, with Hailey Galison earning six possessions.

UP NEXT: 

STAC heads out on the road for its final two matches of the 2024 regular season. The first stop will be Rochester, New York and an ECC tilt with Roberts Wesleyan University on Saturday, April 20 at 12:00 p.m.