Men's lacrosse opens season with win over Spartans

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College men's lacrosse team opened 2022 the right way, earning a 7-4 victory against Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, February 19.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 7, Saint Thomas Aquinas 4
Records: The Yellow Jackets start the season 1-0, while the Spartans open at 0-1
Location: Ronald J. Abdow Field, Springfield, Massachusetts

KEY STATS:
Saint Thomas Aquinas:
Braiden Struss: Two goals, two ground balls
James Staeckeler: Eight ground balls
Giorgio D'Angelo: Loss (0-1), 17 saves

AIC:
Rusty Stone: Three goals, four ground balls
Hunter Terlik: Two goals, one assist, four ground balls
Sal Amaral: Two assists, two ground balls
Rowan Ruggiero: One assist, six ground balls
Clark Marchand: Five ground balls, 10-for-11 on faceoffs
Troy Schweitzer: Win (1-0), seven saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• AIC opened the scoring just over six minutes into the first quarter as Rusty Stone snapped a shot home for the first goal of the season. That lead held until the last minute of the frame, as Carlos Aguilar answered at 14:08 with a goal.
• In the second, Nick Mackay found Hunter Terlik for his first goal with the Yellow Jackets at the 9:35 mark. Once again, the Spartans drew even in the last minute, with Braiden Struss converting a man-up opportunity at 14:09.
• Jack Margetson put the Spartans ahead for the first time at 5:56 of the third, but AIC roared back. Andrew Boyer found Jason Vickery for a tally at 7:01, and off the next faceoff, Rowan Ruggiero won the ball and set up Stone for a goal at 7:15. Terlik then connected with Devon Walker for another AIC tally at 14:55, pushing the lead to 5-3. Struss again scored a last-minute man-up goal, leaving AIC ahead 5-4 after 45 minutes.
• AIC's defense smothered the Spartans in the fourth, and Sal Amaral connected with Stone, who closed the hat trick at 10:18 to re-establish AIC's two-goal edge after a series of successful man-down defenses. From there, the Yellow Jackets played smart, with Amaral setting up Terlik for the last goal of the game at 14:47 and earning the 7-4 victory.

DIVING INTO THE STATS:

• AIC had 52 shot attempts in the game, while holding the Spartans to 17.
• The Yellow Jackets won 12 of the game's 15 faceoffs.
• AIC held the Spartans under 75 percent on clears, while succeeding 24 of 25 times on its own attempts.

NEXT UP:

• AIC treks south to Caldwell University on Saturday, February 26 for a 1:30 p.m. start.