Sparkill, N.Y. - Despite scoring the game-tying goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter on Wednesday afternoon, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Lacrosse team suffered a 12-11 overtime defeat at the hands of crosstown rivals Dominican University at Spartan Field.

STAC drops to 2-6 on the season, while Dominican improves to 2-3 with the victory in extra time.

Ryan Christensen paced the Spartans' offense with five goals and an assist, while Joseph Casarella tallied three goals and Michael Huff added two goals and three helpers. Jeremy Poggi also added to the totals on the scoresheet with a goal of his own. Goalie Craig Peavy (L, 2-6) went the distance for the maroon and gold and stopped 20 of 32 shots faced.

Meanwhile, Dominican was led by Chad Keyser, who tallied three goals and an assist, while Zachary Sousa added three goals and James Conklin scored two goals and added two helpers. Brenden O'Connor (1 goal, 1 assist), Eric Greenwood (1 goal), Sean Cosgrove (1 goal) and Cole Vencak (1 goal) also contributed to the Chargers' victory. Goalie Bryce Layton (W, 2-3) made 13 stops to earn his third victory in five tries.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• STAC opened the scoring with a Joseph Casarella tally just 90 seconds into the match to make it 1-0.
• The visiting Chargers tied the score at 1-1 on a Cole Vencak goal 28 seconds after the Spartans struck first.
• Back-to-back goals by Michael Huff then put the maroon and gold up by two at 3-1.
• Zachary Sousa then made it a 3-2 game with just under five minutes to play in the opening stanza with his first of the day.
• Dominican took its first lead of the day with three consecutive goals to open the second quarter. Brenden O'Connor, Zachary Sousa and James Conklin all beat Craig Peavy make it 5-3 for the guests from Blauvelt.
• St. Thomas Aquinas snatched back the advantage with a trio of goals by Ryan Christensen (2) and Joseph Casarella to send the teams to the halftime break with the Spartans leading 6-5.
• When the teams returned to the field for the third quarter, STAC continued to add to their totals on the scoreboard with tallies from Ryan Christensen and Joseph Casarella to take an 8-5 advantage.
• Chad Keyser, Eric Greenwood and Zachary Sousa would then even the match at 8-8 with three straight strikes.
• Ryan Christensen would end the scoring in the frame with his fourth of the afternoon to give STAC a 9-8 advantage through 45 minutes of action.
• A back and forth fourth quarter would ensue between the teams. First, Dominican would once again even the score on a Chad Keyser goal to make it 9-9.
• Ryan Christensen would then break the stalemate with just over seven minutes to play in regulation, making it 10-9 STAC.
• An offensive push by the Chargers led to consecutive goals by Sean Cosgrove and Chad Keyser to put Dominican back in the lead, 11-10 with six minutes to go.
• Jeremy Poggi's game-tying goal as time expired in the match was allowed to stand by the officiating crew, making it 11-11 and sending the game to overtime.
• A see-saw overtime period led to one final walk-off goal, this one by Domincan University's James Conklin, sending the crowd into a frenzy and ending the match with the victory going to the crosstown foes, 12-11.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE: 

• Dominican outshot STAC 54-42 (32-24 on goal) for the game.
• Ryan Christensen tallied a game-high 16 shots, with nine going on net for St. Thomas Aquinas.
• James Staeckeler and Bo Maroney combined to gather 10 of the Spartans 36 ground balls.
• John Morris and Frank Schaefer caused two Chargers turnovers apiece on the afternoon.
• STAC won 10 of 25 faceoffs, with Austin Palen winning 6-of-17 draws and Joseph Longobardo taking 4-of-8.

UP NEXT:

STAC visits Frostburg State University on Saturday, March 16 for a 1:00 p.m. East Coast Conference match in Maryland.