Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team finally opened the home portion of their 2026 schedule on Saturday afternoon, hosting No. 10 USILA nationally ranked Bentley University in front of a sellout crowd at Spartan Field.
Under overcast skies, along with chilly temperatures, the visiting Falcons took a 9-1 advantage into halftime and doubled their goal total over the final 30 minutes to spoil the Spartans home opener, 18-3.
STAC slips to 1-3 on the year, while Bentley moves to 2-1.
Liam Noseworthy led the Spartans' offense with a pair of goals on the afternoon, while Lou Takacs talled a goal of his own for the maroon and gold. Goalie Hayden Gaudette (L) got the start between the pipes for STAC and stopped 14 of 29 shots faced over 50 plus minutes of action, before being replaced by teammate Jaden Heltzel for the final 9:44. Heltzel turned aside 2 of 5 shots fired his way.
Meanwhile, Bentley was led by Brendan Varnerin, who tallied four goals, while Alex Ryan added three goals. In addition, Nolan Jennings and Copper Kraus each scored twice, with teammates Max Herstrom, Charlie David, Beckett Mehlhorn, Des Couri, Ben Kupstas, Harrison Murray and Andrew Deppe adding to the totals on the scoreboard with a goal apiece for the visiting Falcons. Goalie Ryan Bordiere (W) was 3 for 4 in save opportunities over the first three quarters of action, before being spelled by both Paul Harrison and Matt Barry for the final stanza of the match. Harrison stopped 3 of 4 shots in a little over six minutes of action, while Barry also turned away 3 of 4 shots in almost nine minutes of play.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Bentley outshot STAC 41-17 (34-12 on goal) for the match.
- Christian Rodriguez tallied a team-high four shots, with two going on goal for St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Nicola Greer gathered eight of the Spartans 34 ground balls.
- Greer, Holden Johnston, Ethan Urbanski and Karonhiakehson Jacobs each caused a Falcons' turnover on the afternoon.
- STAC won 13 of 24 faceoffs, with Vinny Rosario winning 7 of 14 draws and Austin Palen winning 6 of 9 battle in the circle.
UP NEXT:
STAC takes on Pace University at Northwell Stadium on Tuesday, March 10. The opening faceoff between the Spartans and Setters is set for 3:30 p.m. in Pleasantville, New York.