Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 25, 2015) - The #11 Molloy College men's lacrosse team closed out its regular season in thrilling fasion as its 12-7 win over Dowling College this afternoon clinched the fourth and final seed in the East Coast Conference Championship Tournament. With the win, the Lions improve to 11-3 overall (5-3 ECC), while the Golden Lions slip to 5-8 (4-4 ECC). While Mercy College also finished the season at 5-3, the Mavericks earn the third seed due to the head-to-head tiebreaker: Mercy defeated Molloy on April 11.
Before the action started today, the Molloy College men's lacrosse program honored its seniors in a special pre-game, on-field ceremony. The team recognized these eight graduating seniors:
Joe Leonard,
Tom Engelhardt,
Tom Turner,
Connor Daly,
Sal Geneva,
Steve Marrandino,
James Lang and
Dan McElhinney.
In the first quarter, the Golden Lions sprinted out to a 2-0 lead before the Lions responded with their first goal of the game from Turner. Then, Leonard tied the game at 2-2 with his first marker of the day. However, Dowling answered right back to take a 3-2 lead before Engelhardt continued the see-saw affair, tying the game with his first goal on the afternoon.
The Lions took the lead on Engelhardt's second goald of the game to move to a 4-3 advantage over Dowling. The Golden Lions went on to tie the contest at 4-4 before junior
Kevin Teresky (South Huntington, N.Y.) put Molloy back on top yet again.
In the second period, the Golden Lions knotted the game at 5-5 as the crowd was given a nailbiting affair with much on the line for both squads. The Lions increased its lead to 7-5 following tallies from Leonard and junior
Peter Clark (Rockville Centre, N.Y.). That was the score as the two teams headed into the intermission.
After halftime, the Lions eventually went up, 8-6, on Engelhardt's third goal of the game. As Molloy's defense and freshman goalie
Ryan Toomey (Hicksville, N.Y.) blanked Dowling and held the Golden Lions scoreless for the entire fourth quarter, the Lions' offense continued to mount goals. Molloy eventually achieved a 12-7 lead due in part to two more goals from Engelhardt and another off the stick of Clark.
For the game, Engelhardt finished with five goals and one assist, while Clark scored three times and dished out one assist. Leonard finished with two goals and two assists, while Teresky and Turner both had one goal apiece. In net, Toomey made 12 saves.
The Lions will next make the men's lacrosse program's playoff debut on Wednesday, April 30. The fourth-seeded Lions will take on top-seeded LIU Post in Brookville, N.Y. beginning at 3 p.m. In the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches Poll for Division II, the Pioneers were ranked sixth in the country. Molloy and LIU Post met once this season, back on March 14 when the Pioneers downed the Lions, 12-8. Please check back right here at MolloyLions.com for more playoff coverage, as well as links to LiveStats and an audio/video broadcast.
