Sparkill, N.Y. - In what felt like a postseason tournament match, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team battled to a hard fought 2-1 victory over the University of the District of Columbia on Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Field.

STAC improves to 4-1-2 overall and 2-0 within the ECC, while UDC slips to 2-4-3 and 0-1-2.

Kevon Evans tallied his team-leading sixth goal of the season in the match, while Alejandro Zuniga netted the game-winner in the 76th minute. In net, keeper Calle Olle Petter Gunnarsson (W, 4-0-2) was sensational, stopping eight of nine shots faced, including a late first half penalty kick.

How it Happened

• 23rd Minute: A through ball up the middle of the field by Alejandro Zuniga, allowed Kevon Evans to gather the ball and side step his defender to fire a well-placed shot to the top left corner of the net, beating UDC keeper Sergio Becerra to make it 1-0 St. Thomas Aquinas
• 42nd Minute: UDC would be awarded a penalty kick after STAC keeper Calle Olle Petter Gunnarsson interfered with a Firebirds player inside the box. Gunnarsson would go down for several minutes following the collision and receive a yellow card for the foul. Once he was back up and given clearance to continue by the athletic trainer, Calle would have to try and stop a PK attempt by Ignacio Pericet. Pericet would crank up a low shot toward the left post that would be stopped by a diving Gunnarsson to keep the game at 1-0.
• 75th Minute: A second penalty kick attempt for UDC, this time for a handball inside the box by a STAC defender, would be put to the back of the net by Axel Gamez to tie up the match at 1-1.
• 76th Minute: Moments later, the Spartans game winner would come via a 2-on-1 by Uhunoma Fredrick-Ilekhuoba and Yahir Hernandez. On the play instead of taking a shot on frame, Hernandez would send a soft touch back to a trailing Alejandro Zuniga who ripped a high shot past Becerra to make it 2-1, and sent the entire STAC roster rushing to the corner of the field near their bench in a joyous celebration.

Inside the Box Score

• STAC outshot UDC 16-14, while the visitors earned a 9-7 corner kicks advantage over the maroon and gold.
• Uhunoma Fredrick-Ilekhuoba recorded a game-high five total shots in the contest with three going on frame.
• In a very physical match, 39 total fouls were called between the sides, with each team receiving three cautions apiece.

Up Next

St. Thomas Aquinas makes the first of two trips to Western New York this season, visiting D'Youville University on Saturday, September 30. Kickoff between the Spartans and Saints is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Dobson Field in Buffalo, N.Y.