SPARKILL, N.Y. – After trailing early, the East Stroudsburg University men' soccer team rallied for two goals to take a lead, but Saint Thomas Aquinas closed the contest with a 3-0 run, defeating ESU by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday afternoon at Spartan Field.

The Warriors drop to 2-4, 1-0 in PSAC East action, while the Spartans improve to 2-1-2, 0-0-1 in ECC play.  

Recording goals for ESU were Pieter Neerhof and Colby Raymond.

Notables

• After not recording a point the first four games of the season, Raymond now has three goals over the past two games for six points. The 2021 All-PSAC East First Team selection now has nine career goals and 27 points in 23 career games.
• Neerhof's goal is the second of the season, after registering a goal in his ESU debut against Felician.
• In goal, Helgi Hermmanson (L, 0-1) made his first career start and played all 90 minutes, making a pair of saves against the Spartans. For STAC, Joshua Heber and Tabor McDaniels split halves, combining for seven saves.
• ESU led 15-10 on shots and 9-6 on shots on goal. Raymond led the Warriors with five shots and three shots on goal. The Warriors also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• With ESU leading 2-1, STAC answered with two goals less than 30 seconds apart in the first half  to take the lead for good.
• Today's game marked the first time STAC defeated ESU in program history. The Warriors earned wins in three of the four previous meetings against the Spartans in 2015 (4-0), 2001 (9-0) and 2000 (11-0), with the two teams tying in 2014 (1-1).

How It Happened

• 6' | Anthony Sanchez was able to flip a pass to the far right to Christian Ferlisi, who was able to head down a shot into the goal.
• 18' | Off a corner kick, the STAC keeper was able to make a save, but the ball would fling high in the air. Neerhof was able to get his head on the ball and direct a shot into the corner of the net to tie the contest.
• 27' | Less than 10 minutes later, ESU was able to grab a lead. Raymond was able to post a shot from a centering pass from Bradway. With a defender closing in, Raymond was able to settle possession and keep possession away from  Spartan keeper, depositing his third goal of the season into an open net.
• 34' | On a free kick outside the box, a shot was curved before being deflected and headed into the near side corner by Lewis Patterson.
• 34' | Just 18 seconds later following the equalizer, the Spartans retook the lead. STAC stole possession from ESU, and Jorge Umana would make a move following receiving a centering pass and had space to sneak a shot past the diving Hermmanson.
• 47' | A through ball would prompt Hermmanson to make a play on the ball outside the goal box, as a STAC player was able to just get a foot on the ball, sending possession to the corner of the net. Kevon Evans was able to prevent a Warrior defender from kicking the ball out-of-bounds and put a shot into an empty net with Hermmanson still recovering from the initial shot.

• ESU returns to PSAC play this weekend, when the Warriors face Shippensburg on the road. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. at David See Field.