Garden City, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team kicked off its 2026 season by visiting the back-to-back defending Division II National Champions, Adelphi University on Wednesday evening at Motamed Field on Long Island.
Riding a 13-2 halftime advantage, the host Panthers cruised to a 20-8 victory over the Spartans, spoiling the coaching debut of new bench boss Brett Capps.
STAC falls to 0-1 on the season, while Adelphi improves to 3-0.
Sophomore Max Benoit led the Spartans' offense with three goals on the evening, while freshman Nodin Porter talled a pair of goals and teammates Cam Wallace (Jr.), Nathan Smith (So.) and Christian Rodriguez (So.) each scored a goal apiece. Junior Hayden Gaudette (L, 0-1) got the start in the cage for the maroon and gold and stopped 18 of 38 propelled in his direction.
Meanwhile, Adelphi was led by Noah Gibson, who tallied six goals and added two helpers, while Michael Durnin added five goals and three assists. Thomas Raccomandato, Charles Cavalieri, Stephen Bayer, Travis Acquilino, Gavin Herzog, Joey Sabia, Kiernan Crayton Dillon, Alex Titto and Braden Donnellan added to the totals on the scoreboard for the Panthers with a goal each. Goalie Christian Tomei (W, 3-0) made two stops on three shots in 15 minutes of action, before being spelled by fellow netminders Thomas Gentile, Aidan Green and Christopher Santacroce for the final 45 minutes. Gentile turned aside two of three shots, Green one of three and Santacroce one of five.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Adelphi outshot STAC 60-26 (38-14 on goal) for the match.
- Junior Cam Wallace tallied a team-high five shots, with three going on net for St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Sophomore Vinny Rosario gathered nine of the Spartans 34 ground balls.
- Junior Ethan Urbanski caused three Panthers' turnovers on the evening.
- STAC won 16 of 32 faceoffs, with Vinny Rosario winning 13-of-25 draws.
UP NEXT:
STAC takes on Emory & Henry University on Saturday, February 28 for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference bout at the USA Lacrosse Complex in Sparks, Maryland.