WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's lacrosse sophomore goalkeeper Shane Murphy (Middletown, N.J.) stopped 13 shots, while sophomore Jayden Paladino (Hawthorne, N.J.) tallied five points as the Cougars defeated St. Thomas Aquinas College 12-9 in a non-conference contest.
 
The Cougars improve to 2-3 overall, while the Spartans fall to 1-6.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas got the first goal of the game at the 8:36 mark of the opening quarter. Caldwell scored four straight goals as sophomore Jason Staudte (Sound Beach, N.Y.) and sophomore Chris Deehan (Whippany, N.J.) each scored goals for the Cougars. Junior Kevin Albright (Mays Landing, N.J.) scored twice including early in the second quarter for a 4-1 lead.
 
The Spartans rallied with three goals to tie the score at 4-4 midway through the second quarter. Albright and freshman Ben Taylor (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) bookended a Spartan goal as Caldwell held a 6-5 lead at halftime.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas tied the score at 6-6 early in the second half but Caldwell answered with three unanswered goals. Paladino scored a pair of goals, while Albright added one to push the Cougars ahead 9-6. The Spartans tallied two late goals to close the gap to 9-8 heading to the fourth quarter.  
 
Caldwell extended their lead with three goals in the fourth quarter as freshman Spencer Deane (Salem, N.H.), Taylor and junior Owen Healey (Washington, N.J.) notched the final goals for the Cougars.
 
Paladino led the way with three goals and two assists with three ground balls, while Albright tallied four goals in the win. Taylor netted two goals and one assist, while Staudte and Deane each finished with one goal and one assist.    
 
Murphy turned in a solid effort in net as he played all 60 minutes in net, recording 13 saves in the win.  
 
The Cougars open conference play as they host Dominican College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest on Wednesday, March 23 at 4 pm at Essex Valley Field in West Caldwell.