SPARKILL, N.Y. (Sept. 17, 2016) - Graduate goalkeeper Arianna Ovadia (East Meadow, N.Y.) faced 20 total shots on goal and made 19 saves for the Molloy College field hockey team, but a 24th-minute goal by Saint Thomas Aquinas College proved to be the only offense of a 70-minute battle as the Spartans claimed a 1-0 win over the Lions on Saturday (Sept. 17) at Spartan Field.

The goal came in the first half off of the stick of sophomore Alexandra Vippolis (Stony Point, N.Y.) with an assist credited to freshman Kaitlyn Gutenberger (Stony Point, N.Y.) at the 23:18 mark of the opening frame of play. STAC (1-5) controlled much of the in-game tempo versus Molloy (0-3) with a 25-5 advantage in shots over the course of the contest. Freshman Lauren Keller (Westbury, N.Y.) and junior Angela Burth (Massapequa, N.Y.) each had two shots and a shot on goal while Jessica Waszcak (Northport, N.Y.) also attempted a shot on goal for the Lions. Junior defender Kelly Saronka (Wantagh, N.Y.) was credited with a defensive save for the maroon and white as well. Meanwhile, Gutenberger had a match-high 11 shots with nine on target against Ovadia; Sophomore forward Jacqueline Dowling (Pearl River, N.Y.) had five shots and four on target.

Molloy will gun for its first win of the season on Sunday (Sept. 18) but the Lions will face an uphill battle going against defending national champion East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. The match is set for 1 p.m.