LATE CHARGE PROPELS NO. 6 MEN’S LACROSSE TO 13-12 EDGING OF ADELPHI IN ECC ACTION

Box Score vs. Adelphi - April 4, 2009

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (Apr. 4, 2009) – Trailing 12-10 with over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the sixth-ranked Molloy College men’s lacrosse team earned three goals in a span of 1:46 to secure a 13-12 win versus East Coast Conference arch-rival Adelphi University on Saturday afternoon at Competition Field in Garden City, N.Y. With the victory, the Lions improved to 7-1 overall, and 1-1 in league play. As for the Panthers, they fell to 4-5 on the year. They also dropped to 0-1 in the ECC.

Sophomore attackman Brandon Peyer (Williston Park, N.Y.) started the rally with an unassisted marker at the 3:26 juncture. Less than a minute later, senior midfielder Albert Maione (West Islip, N.Y.) scored with an extra man on a feed from senior midfielder Keith Galante (Plainedge, N.Y.). Lastly, Galante had the go-ahead goal for Molloy with 2:40 left, which gave it a 13-12 lead. Maione and Galante each finished out the day with three tallies, while Peyer totaled two goals.

Leading 3-2 with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter, Adelphi recorded three of the next goals to go into the locker room up by a 6-3 count. Graduate midfielder Andrew Ashkenazy (Oceanside, N.Y.) opened and closed out the run with a tally on an unassisted effort. Junior attackman Ian Kuchta (Norwalk, Conn.) got the other at even strength as well. Sophomore midfielder Edmund Jules (Baldwin, N.Y.) received the assist. Ashkenazy picked up three points (2 G, 1 A), while Kuchta collected two markers.

The Panthers opened the third quarter with three unanswered tallies to grab a 9-3 lead. Junior midfielder Kevin Kemp (Westbury, N.Y.) totaled a goal and an assist in that time. Freshman attackman Joe Vitale (Lynbrook, N.Y.) and sophomore attackman Daniel Gaudet (Plymouth, Mass.) had markers also. The Lions responded with seven of the following eight tallies in the contest to deadlock the score at 10-up. The tandem of Maione, Galante and Peyer registered three straight man-up goals to kick it off.

Freshman attackman Ryan Kudlek (Oceanside, N.Y.) raked two markers in the spurt. Galante added another goal. Junior midfielder Matt Dolan (Plainedge, N.Y.) closed things out with a 10-on-10 tally off of a pass from Galante. Prior to the fourth-quarter comeback by Molloy, Adelphi got scores from Vitale at junctures of 11:05 and 4:41, respectively, which gave it a 12-10 lead.

In addition to his three goals, Galante picked up seven points off an additional four assists. He also won three ground balls. Kudlek collected three goals and two ground balls. Dolan finished with two goals and two ground balls. Senior midfielder Peter Bonelli (Commack, N.Y.) registered nine faceoff victories and nine ground balls. Senior cageminder Robert Humann (Hicksville, N.Y.) made eight saves in his seventh win of the year for Molloy.

Vitale, Kemp and freshman attackman Danny Blau (Farmingdale, N.Y.) notched four points apiece. Blau also won two ground balls. Ashkenazy had 15 faceoffs and 14 ground balls as well as his three points. Jules passed a pair of assists. He also accumulated three ground balls and two faceoffs. Junior goalies David Schneiderbauer (Pepperell, Mass.) and Zachary Bates (Wading River, N.Y.) combined to make 15 saves between the two of them for Adelphi.

Overall, the Lions owned a 41-30 advantage in shots, while the Panthers held a 32-18 margin in ground balls. Adelphi also registered a 64.3 (18-for-28) faceoff win percentage, while Molloy was 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) in the faceoff department. The Lions had a 75.0 percent (9-of-12) success rate in clearing attempts. As for the Panthers, they were 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) on clears. With the extra-man opportunity, MC was 4-of-15, while AU was 3-of-6.

Head Coach Joe Catalanotti and the Lions return to the field next Saturday when they open up a three-game homestand versus Mercyhurst College at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, N.Y. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. If you are unable to make it to the game, you can follow all of the action via Live Stats at http://livestats.prestosports.com/molloy.