EAST ROCKAWAY, N.Y. (Sept. 11, 2016) - The outcome of the game was displayed on the scoreboard at Bay Park on Sunday (Sept. 11) with the Adelphi University Panthers claiming a 5-2 victory over the Molloy College field hockey team. What the scoreboard failed to display, however, was the overall heart and commitment from the Lions in the squad's first-ever home game played in East Rockaway. The scoreboard also neglected to mention two of the players that will have their names forever etched in the historical annals of Molloy athletics.

The Panthers took an early lead in the game's first 240 seconds and never lost their advantage. Adelphi would go up 3-0 midway through the first half before the maroon and white started to mount an offensive charge. It was junior Zoe Norton (Sayville, N.Y.) that set up an attempt on goal, sliding a feed towards the cage. In the ensuing scramble, freshman Lauren Keller (Westbury, N.Y.) fought tooth-and-nail with Adelphi goalie Amanda Gargiulo (Westbury, N.Y.); Keller won out as the ball bounced off her stick and hit the backboards of the goal for the first-ever score in Molloy field hockey history. In the second half with the Panthers up 5-1 and the clock winding down, Norton converted on a penalty-stroke for her first goal in a Lions uniform to give her side another moment to savor in the contest.

As for the stats of the game, Adelphi outshot Molloy by a 26-6 margin with Norton leading the way with three shots and two shots on goal. The defense held its own against a talented Panthers rush, with graduate goalie Arianna Ovadia (East Meadow, N.Y.) collecting 13 saves for the Lions in cage.

Molloy travels this upcoming weekend, with a Saturday (Sept. 17) showcase at Saint Thomas Aquinas before a Sunday afternoon (Sept. 18) matinee with defending national champion and top-ranked East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.