Stone's eight leads men's lacrosse to season-opening win at STAC

SPARKILL, New York – Jack Spallone earned his first win as the head coach of the American International College men's lacrosse team in his first game behind the bench as the squad cruised to a 17-8 victory at Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, February 18.

AIC starts the 2023 campaign at 1-0.

John Pena started the scoring for the Spartans, but the late stages of the first quarter belonged to AIC. Jason Vickery tied the game just after the 10-minute mark, and then Avery Foye set up Dylan Seymour for his first collegiate goal on an extra-man opportunity at 12:59. Seymour then added his first college assist, leading Rusty Stone to the net for a goal right before the end of the quarter that gave AIC a 3-1 edge.

As with the first, the hosts scored the second quarter's opener, but it was all AIC from there. Stone scored three in the period, along with goals by Devon Walker, Andrew Boyer, and Foye. The six-goal outburst put AIC in the locker room up 9-2.

The teams traded goals in the third. Foye opened the scoring, and the Spartans netted two late after Stone potted another pair. AIC led 12-5 at the 45-minute mark.

The fourth frame saw the Yellow Jackets close out strong. Stone notched two more to get to eight on the day, while Walker scored another, and Sal Amaral factored in two special-teams goals, setting up Stephen Stratton on an EMO and then scoring shorthanded to put the flourish on a nine-goal win.

Stone's eight goals came on 10 shot attempts; Seymour ended up with a trio of assists. In net, Hayden Gaudette earned the win with 11 saves on 18 shots, while Ben Fitzsimmons stopped a pair of chances in 5:02 of relief.

AIC opens the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday, February 22 at 4:00 p.m. against the University of Bridgeport.