ALBANY – St. Thomas Aquinas College rallied from a 2-1 halftime deficit by scoring twice in the second period to come away with a 3-2 non-conference victory over The College of Saint Rose men's soccer team this afternoon at Varsity Field on the campus of UAlbany. In the process, the Spartans (2-4-1) snapped a three game winless streak, while the Golden Knights (2-6-0) fell for the sixth time in seven contests.

Saint Rose raced out to an early 2-0 advantage just more than eight minutes into the game. Junior forward Liam Barrett converted a feed from sophomore forward Taras Panchishak at the 4:37 mark to record his first tally of the year. A little more than three minutes later, sophomore keeper Patrik Ohlsson punted a ball behind the St. Thomas Aquinas defense and junior forward Justin Little found the lower left corner after sneaking in one-on-one.

The Spartans answered at the 25:46 mark on an unassisted marker by freshman forward Jorge Mera. Mera settled a pass near the endline and turned the corner after a Saint Rose defender lost his footing. Mera then ripped a shot from eight yards out that went through the hands of Ohlsson to make it a 2-1 affair.

In the second stanza, freshman forward Daniel Davren set up both strikes for St. Thomas Aquinas. Davren served a ball down the left channel for junior midfielder Konstantionos Sapountzis who found the back of the net for the first time this season in the 56th minute. Davren then hoisted a throw-in near the far post where junior back Christopher Hernandez was there to head the ball home safely.

The Golden Knights had a chance to tie things in the 88th minute. Little was taken down in the penalty box and senior midfielder Justin Paden stepped up to attempt the ensuing penalty kick. However, Spartan sophomore keeper Nicholas Croce was up to the task, making what amounted to be the final save of the afternoon to preserve the victory.

Saint Rose held a slim 11-10 margin in shots throughout the contest, while St. Thomas Aquinas earned a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Ohlsson and Croce eached turned aside four shots for their respective clubs. 

Up ahead, the Golden Knights will hit the road for a Northeast-10 Conference match Saturday afternoon at Saint Anselm College. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm in Manchester, NH. Meanwhile, the Spartans have six days to prepare for another non-league match when they visit Goldey-Beacom College at 4:00 pm Wednesday.

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