Box Score Manchester, N.H.- The #11 Molloy men's lacrosse team opened its 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 10–8 loss to Southern New Hampshire University at Mark A. Ouellette Stadium this afternoon. The Lions begin the season 0–1, while the Penmen improve to 2–0.
 
How it Happened

• The Penmen opened the scoring with two quick goals in the first four minutes of play, putting early pressure on the Lions.
• After a pair of Lions' shots went wide, redshirt senior Noah Hammon finished a pass from senior Jake Taylor to get Molloy on the board. Just over a minute later, freshman Jaden Simick buried the equalizer to level the score at two.
• Southern New Hampshire responded with another goal before the end of the first frame to make it 3-2. The Lions continued to push offensively, firing four additional shots but none were able to find the back of the net. 
• The home team struck again early in the second with two goals in the first three minutes, including one on a man-up opportunity, extending its lead to 5-2.
• Three minutes later, the Lions capitalized on a man-up situation of their own as Hammon netted his second goal of the contest. Southern New Hampshire would then take a 6–3 advantage in the seventh minute of the frame.
• In the final two minutes of the half, senior goaltender John Basile carried the ball to midfield to spark a transition play. A quick sequence of passes from Hammon to senior Nick Taiani to Taylor resulted in a goal that pulled the Lions within two 6-4, heading into the halftime break.
• The Penmen opened the second half with two quick goals, including one 42 seconds into a man-up opportunity, to stretch the lead to 8–4.
• The Lions responded with a another transition play as senior Shawn McCabe forced a turnover, picked up the ground ball, and connected with senior Jaden McLeod. McLeod carried the ball nearly 70 yards before finding graduate student Zach Kroog, who was able to bury the pass.
• On the cardinal and white's second man-up opportunity of the contest, Kroog dished out a pass from behind the net to Taylor for a goal that cut the deficit to 8-6 heading into the final frame.
• Southern New Hampshire opened the fourth quarter with another early goal. The Lions answered when East Coast Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year senior Brian Green converted a feed from Hammon, but the Penmen quickly responded to extend the lead to 10–7.
• Southern New Hampshire controlled possession for much of the final four minutes, hampering Molloy's ability to bridge the gap. Finally in the final minute, Kroog fired off a final shot to round out the scoring, 10-8.

Top Performances

• Taylor and Hammon led the Lions offensively with three points apiece, each recording two goals and an assist.
• Kroog added two goals in the effort with the remaining markers coming from Simick and Green.
• Thomas Corcoron contributed two assists, with additional assists coming from McLeod and Taiani.
• Senior Brandon Pazienza, who went 14-of-20 on face-offs, led with seven ground balls, while sophomore Aiden Dinnigan, senior Thomas Kofod, and Corcoron picked up two.
• Basile made five saves in net.

Up Next
The Lions will host the ninth-ranked Setters of Pace University on Saturday (Feb. 21) at 12:00 p.m. at the Rockville Centre Sports Complex.