West Caldwell, N.J. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Lacrosse team scored early and often, en route to an 18-7 victory over Caldwell University on Friday at Essex Valley Field.

STAC picks up its first victory of the season to move to 1-5, while Caldwell slips to 0-3 on the year.

Junior Hailey Galison led the charge for the Spartans, scoring seven goals and adding six helpers in the contest. Meanwhile Katelyn Cerrato (5 goals, 1 assist), McKenzie Schlechtweg (3 goals), Arianna Tribble (2 goals) and Briana Meuse (1 goal) helped power the maroon and gold offense. Caldwell was led Madison Ellis who tallied five goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Hailey Galison and Arianna Tribble tallied the first two goals of the match for STAC to make it 2-0.
• Caldwell got themselves onto the scoreboard via an Emily Lasko strike to cut the deficit to 2-1.
• Katelyn Cerrato and Arianna Tribble put consecutive scoring opportunities to the back of the cage to increase the Spartans advantage to 4-1.
• The host Cougars beat the first quarter buzzer with a Madison Ellis strike to make it a 4-2 contest through one quarter of play.
• Galison opened yet another quarter, this time the second stanza, by scoring a goal to push the STAC lead to 5-2.
• Madison Ellis and Emily Lasko each beat STAC goalie Colleen Steven with shots, as Hailey Galison then provided a pair of her own goals to make it 7-4 in favor of the maroon and gold.
• STAC and Caldwell the next four goals, with Emily Lasko scoring for Caldwell, followed up by Galison's fifth tally for STAC to make it 8-5. Madison Ellis answered for the Cougars, but Katelyn Cerrato got her first of the day for the Spartans to increase the totals on both sides to 9-6.
• Hailey Galison found the back of the net for the sixth time on the afternoon with seconds to play in the first half, giving STAC a four goal advantage (10-6) at halftime.
• When the teams returned to the field for third quarter action, STAC continued its scoring prowess, netting five straight goals. Katelyn Cerrato (2), McKenzie Schlechtweg (2) and the aforementioned Hailey Galison led the red-hot offensive charge, blowing the game wide open and giving the maroon and gold a comfortable 15-6 lead.
• A Madison Ellis tally in the closing seconds of the stanza, cut the Caldwell deficit to eight, 15-7.
• STAC controlled the entire fourth quarter, scoring three goals, as Katelyn Cerrato earned her fifth goal of the day, McKenzie Schlechtweg tallied herself a hat-trick and Brianna Meuse earned her first of the day to close the scoring and give the Spartans their first win of the campaign, 18-7.

 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• STAC tallied 25 shots on goal, with Hailey Galison registering 11 and Katelyn Cerrato recording nine.
• Arianna Tribble scooped up four ground balls, with Galison grabbing three. Galison also caused three turnovers on the day.
• Hailey Galison led St. Thomas Aquinas with 12 draw controls.
• Colleen Stevens (L, 1-5) made six stops on 13 shots faced for the Spartans, to earn her first win of the season.

UP NEXT:

St. Thomas Aquinas College visits Assumption University on Thursday, March 16. The opening draw between the Spartans and Greyhounds is set for 5:30 p.m. at Brian Kelly Stadium in Worcester, Mass.