Bridgeport, Conn. - Braiden Struss' goal with just under ten minutes to play in the fourth quarter, turned out to be the game-winner, as St. Thomas Aquinas College earned a 13-11 victory over the University of Bridgeport on Sunday afternoon at Knights Field.

STAC wins its second straight contest and moves 2-1 on the year, while Bridgeport slips to 1-2 on the year.

Freshman Ryan Christensen, sophomore John Pena and junior Braiden Struss tallied three goals each on the afternoon, while junior Reno Molina and sophomore Jeremy Schucker provided additional offense for the maroon and gold, with a goal apiece in the contest. Bridgeport was led by Tyne Hewlette, Nick Whelan and Darien Fray, who netted three goals each.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Braiden Struss opened the scoring, by take a feed from teammate John Pena and putting it to the back of the net to make it 1-0 STAC just over three minutes into the match.
• Bridgeport struck for two quick goals, courtesy of Nick Whelan and Darien Fray to take a 2-1 lead.
• The Spartans and Purple Knights then traded the next six goals to end the first quarter, with Ryan Christensen, Jeremy Schucker and Michael Huff all tallying for visitors and Darien Fray, Tyne Hewlette and Nick Whelan all scoring to make it a 5-4 Purple Knights advantage through the first 15 minutes of action.
• STAC opened the second stanza with three straight strikes, as Michael Huff, Ryan Christensen and Braiden Struss all scored to flip the scoreboard in favor of the maroon and gold at 7-5.
• UB countered with two goals of their own, when Darien Fray and James Napoli each beat Spartans' goalie Craig Peavy to tie up the game at 7-7 with just under five minutes to play before halftime.
• John Pena put the Spartans back on-top, with his first of the day, just before the halftime buzzer.
• When the teams returned to the field for the third quarter, it would be Bridgeport that came out firing, as Nick Whelan, Dewey Schoenfelder and Tyne Hewlette powered the goal barrage to give UB the two-goal lead, 10-8.
• Ryan Christensen and Reno Molina struck for back-to-back goals, with just under two minutes left in the quarter, to knot the game at 10 all.
• The Spartans continued to find the back of the cage to start the final quarter of play. John Pena and Braiden Struss scored early in the frame to give the maroon and gold the advantage on the scoreboard, this time a two-goal margin, 12-10.
• Bridgeport cut its deficit in half with a Tyne Hewlett tally with just over eight minutes to play, making it 12-11.
• The final goal of the match came via the Spartans, as John Pena provided the man-up insurance marker to make it a 13-11 contest with a little over three minutes to go.
• UB attempted to rally from its two-goal disadvantage, but STAC goalie Connor Reed came up with key saves, and costly turnovers by the Purple Knights kept the ball with STAC for a majority of the time remaining on the clock.

 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• STAC tallied 21 shots on goal, with John Pena registering five shots on net and Braiden Struss, Michael Huff and Ryan Christensen recording four shots apiece on frame.
• Austin Palen scooped up seven ground balls, with Reno Molina grabbing five. Frank Schaefer caused three turnovers.
• Palen also won 12-of-19 faceoffs for St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Craig Peavy made 6 stops on 13 shots faced for the Spartans. Connor Reed (W, 1-0) came on in relief to start the second half, stopping five of nine shots, to earn his first collegiate victory. 

UP NEXT

STAC concludes its road trip, visiting Post University on Wednesday, March 8, with the opening faceoff set for 2:00 p.m. in Connecticut.