Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 25, 2015) – With the help of six goals from junior
Katie O'Brien (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and five goals from sophomore
Cooper Sesselman (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), the Molloy College women's lacrosse team defeated Mercy College in East Coast Conference play on Saturday afternoon, 21-16. With the win, the Lions are now 9-6 (4-4 ECC), while the Mavericks fall to 7-10 (3-5 ECC).
With today's victory and Roberts Wesleyan College losing to Dowling College earlier, the Lions clinched the fourth and final playoff berth in the ECC Championship Tournament. Molloy earns the playoff spot over the University of Bridgeport – even though both squads own 4-4 conference records – due to the tiebreaker scenario: in their head-to-head matchup this year, the Lions bested the Purple Knights on April 7, 10-6.
Prior to today's contest, the women's lacrosse program honored and recognized its eight graduating seniors:
Casey Naab,
Amy Cesario,
Laura Vetter, Elyse Orksi,
Meghan Orlando,
Kelsey Dittmeier,
Shannon Defliese, and team manager
Nikki Adduci.
Eight minutes into this game with Molloy holding a 2-1 lead, the Lions reeled off four straight to put some breathing room between themselves and the Mavericks. That was short-lived, however, as Mercy scored five unanswered goals over the span of 10 minutes. Following the spurt, the Mavericks led, 7-5.
In the final 3:55 of the first half, Molloy went on a 6-1 run to take an 11-8 advantage into halftime. In that run, Naab scored twice.
Throughout the second stanza, the Lions held, at-minimum, a three-goal lead. In the first 12 minutes, the Lions posted another 6-2 run to take a 17-10 lead. In the subsequent 12 minutes, the Mavericks notched a 6-2 run of their own to trim their deficit to 19-16. However, with 3:20 left, time wasn't on Mercy's side, especially with O'Brien and Sesselman adding insurance goals to secure Molloy's win, 21-16.
For Molloy, O'Brien finished with six goals (a career-high) and one assist, while Sesselman had five goals and two assists. Orlando dished out six assists, while Naab, Defliese and freshman
Jessica Markowitz (Baldwin, N.Y.) all recorded hat tricks.
In the cage for Molloy, Vetter stopped eight shots.
Head Coach
Tom Campolettano and the Lions will next play in a re-match of last year's ECC Tournament Semifinal game. On Thursday, April 30, the fourth-seeded Lions will travel to Brookville, N.Y. to take on the top-seeded LIU Post Pioneers beginning at 3 p.m. In the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll, the Pioneers ranked ninth in the country. Molloy and LIU Post met once this season, back on March 28 when the Pioneers downed the Lions, 18-2. Please check back right here at MolloyLions.com for more playoff coverage, as well as links to LiveStats and an audio/video broadcast.
