BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Apr. 19, 2017) ­– The Molloy women's lacrosse team, led by three goals from sophomore Brianna Wilson (Levittown, N.Y.), clashed with the No. 13 Bears of New York Institute of Technology, falling 11-8. NYIT, ranked fifth in the region, remains undefeated in East Coast Conference play while Molloy falls to 9-4 (4-3 ECC) with the loss.

The maroon and white came out running, with Wilson netting the first goal of the contest to give the Lions an early lead. The Bears responded with four straight goals, including two from senior Katie Meinecke (Manorville, N.Y.) to take a three-goal lead. Senior Alexa Watson (North Massapequa, N.Y.) fed senior Cooper Sesselman (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to cut the lead to just two goals. Meinecke, however, netted her third of the contest to give NYIT a 5-2 lead headed into the half.

In the second frame, Katie Znaniecki (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) scored to put NYIT back ahead by three goals before freshman Shannon Atwell (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) answered with a marker of her own to set the score at 6-3. For the remainder of the contest, the Lions would continually respond to each of the Bears' goal with one of their own, but were ultimately unable to overcome the four-goal run from the first half, falling 11-8.

Wilson led with a team-high four points, adding one assist to her three-goal performance, and controlled three draws. Watson, Sesselman, and Atwell each totaled two points while junior Jessica Markowitz (Baldwin, N.Y.) scored once for one point. Sophomores Casie Caiazza (Melville, N.Y.) and Alyssa Chetti (West Babylon, N.Y.) picked up three ground balls while seniors Gabrielle Batista (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Lindsay Cafiero (Bethpage, N.Y.) and sophomore Emily Bauer (Wantagh, N.Y.) all caused two turnovers. Chetti also made seven saves in net for the maroon and white.

Molloy returns to Rockville Centre on Thursday (Apr. 20) as they welcome Chestnut Hill College at 7:00 p.m. The game will benefit the Lead the Way Fund, supporting disabled military veterans. T-shirts will be available for purchase at the gate, with all proceeds of the contest being directly donated to Lead the Way.