SPARKILL, N.Y. (Oct. 9, 2016) - In what was billed as a hotly contested affair between the two best teams in the East Coast Conference based on records, the Molloy College men's soccer team climbed the summit to stand alone in first place in the ECC standings. The benefactors of a 3-0 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas on Saturday (Oct. 8) in Sparkill, the Lions are now 7-2 on the season and an unblemished 4-0 in conference play. Molloy is one of two remaining unbeatens in ECC play (along with No. 4 LIU Post) and the Lions are the only remaining squad that has won each game in league competition in the 2016 campaign. STAC falls to 7-2-2 overall and 3-1-2 in ECC play.

The maroon and white opened the game with five corner kicks in the first fifteen minutes, asserting dominance over the opposition yet not finishing at the net to open the scoring. Senior Kyle Poetzsch (Hicksville, N.Y.) attempted the game's first shot but sophomore keeper Jack Nicholson (Totton Southampton, England) was true to form and made the save. A quick counterattack for the Spartans in the fourth minute provided a hairy moment for the maroon and white as Alejandro Coyt-Orozco (Port Chester, N.Y.) rang a shot off the crossbar, keeping the score tied at nil. The Lions continued to scream towards net and bury STAC deep in the defensive zone, but nothing would come of it until the 38th minute of play. Freshman Anthony Cestaro (Massapequa, N.Y.) would send a ball towards teammate Adam Carnwath (Fleet, England), and the Englishman hit a delicate touch past his countryman Nicholson into the left corner of the net. The goal was Carnwath's first in a Molloy uniform and his first since Oct. 20, 2015---when he scored for Concord (W.Va.) in a 2-1 loss to Findlay.

The scoring would be over for the first half, but Molloy kept up a constant pressure in the face of a game STAC squad attempting to defend its home turf. The second half started with the Spartans on the offensive, but an attempt from sophomore midfielder Nazariy Myniv (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) was always sailing high over the crossbar. Molloy rallied for an insurance marker in the 58th minute, with Poetzsch asserting his dominance yet again. With help from freshman Michael Jimenez (Queens Village, N.Y.), the senior forward was sent racing down the right side of the field towards the Spartans' box. Poetzsch beat Nicholson with an attempt, but the shot took an adventurous turn off the side post before settling into the back of the net. It marked the 12th goal of the season for Poetzsch, which gives him sole possession of first place in the East Coast Conference in goals scored (one ahead of LIU Post's Charlie Ledula). STAC attempted another try to get on the scoresheer with Coyt-Orozco's effort in the 64th minute being parried by Raul Bonilla (Brentwood, N.Y.) into a turnabout attack for the maroon and white. Two minutes later, senior Mosiah Whyte (Coram, N.Y.) scored the third goal for the Lions off an assist from Steven Jimenez (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) to close the scoring on both sides. 

The shots favored neither side as both teams attempted 13 tries on the opposing cage. Molloy did have eight shots on target to six from STAC, but Bonilla was the better man in net by stopping all six shots as Nicholson mustered just five saves. Poetzsch led the Lions with four shots total and two shots on goal while Orlando Castaneda (Bethpage, N.Y.) had two shots on target in the win. Coyt-Orozco was the pacesetter for Saint Thomas Aquinas with five shots total and two targeted attempts in the loss.

Now that the Lions have gone from the hunters to the hunted, the first test in keeping first place in the conference will come on Wednesday (Oct. 12) as Molloy travels to our nation's capital for a contest at the University of the District of Columbia. First kick is set for 3 p.m.