Rockville Centre, N.Y.-  The #12 men's lacrosse team battled against #3 Saint Anselm this afternoon at RVC Sports Complex. Six Lions would score and senior John Basile would make a career-high 17 saves in the 16-9 loss. The Lions sit at 3-2, and the Hawks improve to 3-0 on the season.
 
How it Happened

• The Hawks set the tone early, as Eddie O'Brien scored just 43 seconds into the contest.
• Junior Rocco Hogan caused a turnover and scooped up the ground ball to spark a transition into the offensive zone. Senior Tommy Corcoron finished the play with a goal off a pass from fellow senior Jake Taylor to even the score at one.
• Saint Anselm's offense quickly picked up, netting three goals in a four-minute span. Matt Lemary then netted his second goal of the game on a man-up opportunity before Mark Boyle and Ben Turpin added goals of their own.
• Freshman Jaden Simick connected with Corcoron to bring the Lions to 7-2 before the end of the first frame.
• Corcoron opened the second quarter with his third goal of the afternoon to complete the hat trick and bring the Lions within four.
• The visitors answered just 25 seconds later to restore a five-goal lead. Boyle followed with a low shot and Thomas Driscoll finished a rebound a minute later to push the lead to 10-3.
• Simick tallied a goal of his own with just under two minutes left. Senior Brandon Pazienza won the following face-off, picked up the ground ball, and sent a pass up the middle of the field to graduate student Zach Kroog, who beat the goalie on the left side to cut the deficit back down to five.
• Basile came up with a big save with seven seconds left to keep the score at 10-5 heading into the break.
• Five minutes into the second half, the Lions capitalized on a two-man advantage as redshirt senior Noah Hammon snuck in a goal off a rebound from senior Brian Green.
• Turpin responded for the Hawks a minute later with his third goal of the game.
• With four minutes left in the third, Hammon cut to the inside and fed Green for a goal, pulling the Lions within four.
• Saint Anselm regained momentum late in the quarter, scoring three straight goals to take a 14-7 lead into the final quarter.
• Molloy capitalized on another man-up opportunity with Kroog scoring just as the penalty was expiring. Junior Mikey McClain followed with his first goal of the season on a bouncing shot, cutting the deficit back down to five.
• The Hawks added two more goals in the final six minutes to secure a 16-9 win over the Lions.

Top Performances

• Corcoron led the offense with three goals and one assist, totaling four points.
• Basile made a career-high 17 saves in net
• Kroog (2 goals,1 assist) and Hammon (1 goal, 2 assists), each recorded three points.
• Green and Simick both added a goal and an assist.
• Pazienza dished out an assist and picked up six ground balls.

 
Up Next
The Lions are back home on Saturday (Mar. 14) for the first conference match up of the season against the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.