The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Soccer team earned a 5-3 victory over Dominican College in a non-conference game at Spartan Field. The Lady Spartans improved to 3-5 overall with the win, dropping Dominican to 1-5 on the season.

STAC dominated in the opening minutes and wasted little time getting on the board as Nicole Rivera scored her first of three on the afternoon - and fourth of the season - on an assist from Victoria DeMarco at 6:33. Less than two minutes later, DiMarco's shot from in close was turned aside by Dominican netminder Angelica Contreras, but Nicole Wagner was on the spot to make the score 2-0 after just 8:20 of play.

Rivera continued the Lady Spartans' barrage of three goals in under four minutes, off DeMarco's third assist of the game at 10:05. Despite a 10-3 shots disadvantage, Dominican did generate some life before the half as Jenna Gray's chip found the net to trim the deficit to 3-1 at halftime.

Just 5:42 after the break, Rivera completed the hat-trick in fine fashion, taking a pretty feed from Page Montillo and striking a beauty into the top corner of the net to give STAC a three-goal cushion once again. Taylor Calero cut the gap to 4-2 for the Chargers at 66:53, but Natalie Albero answered off a corner kick at 73:36, giving STAC an insurmountable lead and making Gray's second goal of the game in the final minute all but academic.

Courtney Dumain made three saves in the STAC net to earn her third victory of the season, while Contreras made 11 saves in the Dominican net, with the Lady Spartans enjoying a 23-8 advantage in shots on the day.

The Lady Spartans return to action this Saturday, traveling to Queens College for an East Coast Conference match starting at 12:00 noon. They will be back at Spartan Field for a non-conference battle with Georgian Court next Tuesday, September 27, at 3:00 pm.