The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's soccer team grabbed a first-half lead before falling to New York Institute of Technology, 4-2, in an East Coast Conference tilt at Spartan Field. The Lady Spartans now stand at 0-9-0 overall and 0-5-0 in ECC play, with NYIT improving to 5-7-1, 2-4 in conference action.

Both teams played to a cautious start, with few scoring chances for either until the Lady Spartans broke through nearly 30 minutes in. Shaunna Simmons sent a feed into the box which was played by Nisha Flinn, who deftly chipped the ball past NYIT keeper Victoria Barclay before tapping it into the empty net, giving the hosts the lead at 28:54.

NYIT responded with a vengeance, controlling play immediately after the tally and taking just five minutes to even the score on a Sina Windmuller marker at 33:58, which would be the last score of the first half.

Tech grabbed its first lead of the day shortly after the break, as Sia Dagrizikos sent a beautiful free kick into the box which was drilled home by Wendy Avendano at the 47:30 mark. Only 91 seasons later, the Bears would strike again, with Malissa Horan finishing a penalty kick to put the visitors up by two.

STAC would put pressure on down the stretch, but Alexis Panariello's angle shot from the right side with under nine minutes to play found the corner over the outstretched hands of Lady Spartans goalkeeper Lauren Martinez to make the score 4-1. Flinn would have more chances and was rewarded for her efforts, hitting net on a PK with under four minutes to play, but that would close out the scoring for the afternoon. Morales made two saves for STAC, with Barclay credited with three for NYIT.

The Lady Spartans are back in action on Saturday, October 19, when LIU-Post visits Spartan Field for a 12:00 noon start. It is the front end of a double-header, with the men's teams squaring off beginning at 3:00 pm.