Philadelphia, Pa. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 15-5 victory over Holy Family University on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Field in the City of Brotherly Love.

STAC improves to 2-4 on the season, while Holy Family drops to 1-4.

Matthew Drayton led the Spartans' offense with four goals and an assist, while Jeremy Poggi and John Pena both scored three times and added three helpers. Joseph Casarella tallied three goals and two assists, as teammates Reno Molina (1 goal) and Austin Palen (1 goal) also added to the totals on the scoresheet for the maroon and gold. Goalie Craig Peavy (W, 2-4) got the start between the pipes for STAC and stopped 11 of 16 shots faced in 58 minutes of action, before Justin Avella made his season debut in the final two minutes of the contest.

Meanwhile, Holy Family was led by James Bienia, who tallied three goals and an assist, while Jhay Dameus and Julian Definis added a goal and an assist apiece. Goalie Bryce Thomas (L, 1-4) made 20 saves on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• James Bienia got the scoring for Holy Family with his first goal of the day to make it 1-0 for the hosts.
• STAC quickly answered with a goal by Matthew Drayton to even the score at 1-1, before adding consecutive goals by Joseph Casarella (2) and Jeremy Poggi to give the Spartans a 4-1 lead through the first 15 minutes of play.
• John Pena (2) and Matthew Drayton provided all of the offense for the maroon and gold in the second quarter, scoring midway through the frame to push the STAC lead to 7-1 at the halftime break.
• When the teams returned to the field for the third quarter, it would be more of the same for the Spartans, as Reno Molina and Jeremy Poggi would tally early goals to break the match wide open at 9-1.
• Jhay Dameus broke the nine-goal run by St. Thomas Aquinas with a score for Holy Family to cut the deficit to 9-2.
• However, Matthew Drayton, Austin Palen, Jeremy Poggi and John Pena would drop the hammer on the Tigers with four straight goals to push the visitor's lead to 13-2 with two and a half minutes to play in the third stanza.
• James Bienia closed the scoring in the quarter with his second of the day to make it 13-3.
• In the fourth quarter, STAC and Holy Family traded goals, with each scoring twice. James Bienia and Julian Definis struck for the Tigers, while Matthew Drayton and Joseph Casarella lit the lamp for the Spartans to close out the scoring to make it a 15-5 final.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: 

• STAC outshot Holy Family 51-25 (35-16 on goal) for the game.
• Joseph Casarella tallied a game-high 11 shots, with seven going on net for St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Austin Palen gathered 12 of the Spartans 53 ground balls.
• James Staeckeler caused six turnovers on the afternoon.
• STAC won 17 of 24 faceoffs, with Austin Palen accounting for all of the maroon and gold draws.

UP NEXT: 

St. Thomas Aquinas visits Post University on Saturday, March 9, with the opening faceoff set for 2:00 p.m. at LaMoy Field in Waterbury, Connecticut.