Rockville Centre, N.Y.- The top-seeded men's lacrosse team captured the East Coast Conference Championship title for the second straight season this afternoon, defeating the No. 3 Frostburg Bobcats, 20-8. Redshirt senior attacker
Noah Hammon was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player at the conclusion of the game.
Molloy, ranked 11th in the latest national poll by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, improved to 14-3 on the season, while Frostburg dropped to 11-7.
How it Happened
- The Lions came out firing in the first quarter, scoring nine goals in the opening 15 minutes of play. Seven different players found the back of the net including: graduate student Zach Kroog, seniors Brian Green, Jake Taylor, and Justin Palulis, junior Rocco Hogan, and two goals from Hammon and freshman Jaden Simick.
- Molloy's defense held the Bobcats scoreless in the quarter, with senior goaltender John Basile needing to make just one save.
- Hammon and sophomore Sean Payton extended the run with two more goals to begin the second quarter.
- Frostburg's Henry Sykes ended the Lions' streak with a goal five minutes into the frame.
- The visitors added two more goals shortly after to cut the deficit to 11-3.
- Taylor connected with Green on a man-up opportunity, and Hammon capped the half with his fourth goal of the contest, giving Molloy a 13-3 lead at halftime.
- Simick completed his hat trick to open the second half.
- Luke Roach capitalized on an extra-man advantage to make it 14-4.
- Taylor added another tally to close out the third quarter.
- Sophomore Jack Dankenbrink found the back of the net, followed by goals from Hammon and sophomore defensemen Liam Taylor just 30 seconds apart.
- Frostburg responded with two straight goals to make it 18-7.
- Hammon and Green added the final tallies for the Lions, while Sean Mullineaux scored in the final 14 seconds for the Bobcats.
- Senior Brandon Pazienza secured the final face-off, sealing the 20-8 victory and the conference title for the cardinal and white.
Top Performances
- Hammon led the offense with a career-high nine points (6 goals, 3 assists), while J. Taylor followed with seven points off of two goals and a career-best five assists.
- Palulis recorded two goals and two assists, Green added three goals, and Simick totaled three goals and one assist.
- Dankenbrink and Kroog each contributed a goal and an assist.
- Hogan, Payton, and L. Taylor each dished out an assist.
- Pazienza collected 10 ground balls and went 17-for-23 at the face-off X.
- Sophomore Aiden Dinnigan, senior Shawn McCabe, and Basile each caused three turnovers.
- Basile finished with seven saves in net.
Up Next
With the win, the Lions automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. The team will await its opponent in the NCAA Selection Show, tomorrow (May 3) at 10:00 p.m., streaming on ncaa.com
