Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The third-seeded men's lacrosse team hosted its first-ever NCAA Tournament contest, topping the sixth-seeded Greyhounds of Assumption University, 15-12, in the First Round. Molloy improved to 15-3 on the season and advances to the NCAA Quarterfinal game at RVC Sports Complex this week. Assumption concludes its 2026 campaign with an 11-6 record.
How it Happened
- The Greyhounds opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the contest.
- A backdoor feed from senior Jake Taylor found freshman Jaden Simick for the Lions' first goal of the afternoon.
- Nolan Johnsn answered for the visitors to give Assumption a 2-1 advantage.
- Redshirt senior Noah Hammon capitalized in transition following a failed clear attempt by Assumption.
- Boomer Staunton netted his second goal of the contest to begin the second quarter.
- Taylor found room to fire and buried the equalizer to make it 3-3.
- The Lions' offense worked the ball around the perimeter before finding Hammon in the middle of the zone defense, where he turned and scored on the man-up to give Molloy its first lead of the day.
- At the midway point of the second, both senior goalie John Basile and Assumption goaltender Shane Corcoran recorded two saves each during a back-and-forth defensive stretch.
- Max Lowenberg tied the contest at four with five minutes remaining in the half.
- Senior Brian Green's first shot of the game found the back of the net on a two-man advantage, sending the Lions into halftime with a 5-4 lead.
- Basile opened the second half with an early save to keep the momentum going for the cardinal and white.
- Simick completed his hat trick with back-to-back goals to go ahead 7-4.
- Assumption scored twice in the following three minutes to cut the deficit to one.
- Graduate student Zach Kroog restored a two-goal advantage before senior Justin Palulis scored off a rebound from Green's shot to extend the lead to 9-6.
- They Greyhounds answered with a goal from Ben McHugh.
- Corcoran collected his fourth assist of the day on Green's goal as the Lions entered the fourth quarter ahead 10-7.
- Simick opened the final frame with a goal, giving Molloy its largest lead of the contest at 11-7.
- On a two-man advantage, Lowenberg slipped a low shot through Basile's legs to make it 11-8.
- The Lions took control with three straight goals, including a low finish from Hammon, a top-shelf strike from Green, and Simick's fifth goal of the afternoon.
- Jacob Wilson added a man-up goal before Staunton recorded his fourth of the contest.
- Sophomore Jack Dankenbrink connected with Palulis to push the lead to 15-10.
- Assumption scored twice late in the game, but the comeback attempt fell short as the cardinal and white secured the 15-12 victory.
Top Performances
- Hammon totaled six points with three goals and three assists.
- Simick recorded a career-high five goals.
- Basile tied his career-best with 18 saves in net.
- Green contributed three goals and one assist, while Taylor added a goal and two helpers and senior Tommy Corcoran dished out four assists.
- Palulis tallied two goals, Kroog added one, and Dankenbrink recorded a career-best two assists.
- Senior Brandon Pazienza, sophomore Aidan Dinnigan, and Basile each collected four ground balls.
- Dinnigan caused three turnovers.
Up Next
The Lions will host the Quarterfinal match up against the seventh-seeded Purple Knights of Saint Michael's on Wednesday (May 13) at 4:00 p.m. at the RVC Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
