Sparkill, N.Y. - 33 days after thunderstorms suspended the original matchup between St. Thomas Aquinas College and Felician University, both men's soccer programs returned to the Spartan Field pitch to close out the final 41:55 of play on a picturesque Thursday afternoon. Riccardo Benini broke a 1-1 tie in the 61st minute for the Golden Falcons, as the visitors from New Jersey held on for a 2-1 victory.

STAC falls to 6-2-3 overall, while Felician improves to 9-1-1 on the year.

How it Happened

• St. Thomas Aquinas opened the scoring in the 24th minute, when Kevon Evans would make his way to the net and find teammate Nicholas Sadorf at the right post for the chip in goal to make it 1-0. For Sadorf it's his third tally in his last two matches, while Evans registered his third helper and team-leading 11th point of the season.
• In the 30th minute a foul inside of the penalty area resulted in a penalty kick being awarded to Felician. Alvaro Martin Castedo would be asked to take the attempt and he would be successful, putting a shot past Spartans keeper Calle Olle Petter Gunnarsson to tie the match at 1-1.
• During the halftime break, the teams, officials, fans and game staff would be asked to evacuate Spartan due to lightning being detected in the area. As per NCAA guidelines, the contest could not restart for at least 30 minutes from the last detected lightning strike.
• Once clearance was given, the teams returned to the pitch, and after a brief warm-up, second half action got underway.
• However, just 3:05 into the new stanza, the match would be stopped and field cleared once again due to another lightning detection alert. 
• After some time and consultation between administrators and coaches from both St. Thomas Aquinas and Felician, along with the officiating crew, it was decided that due to the forecast for additional storms and the potential for further stoppages, that the match be suspended and continued at a mutually agreeable date later in the season.
• When the match finally resumed on October 12, it would take until the 61st minute to break the stalemate. The Golden Falcons led the offensive charge up the far side of the field, sending a short pass to Manuel Otero just outside the 18. Otero would cut inside the box and send a cross-field pass to teammate Riccardo Benini, who fired it past Spartans keeper Gino Gandzior at the left post to make it a 2-1 game.

Inside the Box Score

• Felician outshot St. Thomas Aquinas 17-11 for the match.
• The Spartans and Golden Falcons earned five corner kicks apiece.
• Andres Gonzalez-Rios, Nicholas Sadorf and Jalen Moni recorded two shots apiece.
• Calle Olle Petter Gunnarsson made three stops on four shots in just over 48 minutes of action, before being replaced by Gino Gandzior (L, 0-1) for the final 41:55 of play. Gandzior turned away three of four shots faced.

Up Next

STAC hosts the College of Staten Island, as ECC action returns to Spartan Field on Saturday, October 14. Kickoff between the Spartans and Dolphins is set for 2:00 p.m.