LAFLARE AND VARRICCHIO POWER WOMEN’S LACROSSE TO 18-14 VICTORY OVER ASSUMPTION

Box Score vs. Assumption - April 23, 2009

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 23, 2009) - On Thursday afternoon, junior attacker Rebecca LaFlare (Lindenhurst, N.Y.)  and sophomore attacker Maria Varricchio (Massapequa, N.Y.) paced the Lions to an 18-14 victory over the Greyhounds by scoring two goals each and assisting on two others in a game played at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, N.Y. They joined junior midfielder Kristie Sosnowski (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), sophomore midfielder Hayley Lacey (Levittown, N.Y.) and senior attacker Erin Brady (Long Beach, N.Y.) in registering the two marks in the game.

Molloy (7-8) came out firing at the start as the first three goals of the game came from the sticks of senior midfielder Kristen Lang (Hicksville, N.Y.), LaFlare and Lacey. Assumption College (1-10) then got on the board as sophomore attacker Becca Kelley (Westfield, Mass.) found the back of the cage to bring the Greyhounds within 3-1.

Following Kelley's tally, the Lions would put up five unanswered scores in a three-minute span, as the five-goal streak got started when Brady took the feed from Lacey and ripped it into the goal at the 17:27 mark of the half. Varricchio scored two of the next three goals in the period, with her goals getting split with a tally from freshman midfielder Emily Antonette (Seaford, N.Y.). The burst gave Molloy an 8-1 lead with 14:27 remaining.

Molloy would take an 11-4 lead into the half as senior defender Kelly LaClair (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), junior attacker Lori Sollitto (Wantagh, N.Y.) and Sosnowski all registered goals. Between the pipes, senior goalie Alicia Frisch (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) made four saves in her only half of action.

The latter stanza of the contest saw the scoring continue for both teams as Lions' freshman midfielder Alison Scalice (Plainedge, N.Y.) got it going off the feed from Sosnowski. Senior midfielder/attacker Shannon Howard (Norfolk, Mass.) next brought the Greyhounds' within 12-5 on a goal from the free position. Molloy responded with two goals from sophomore midfielder Kristina Luparello (Massapequa, N.Y.) and LaFlare, with Varricchio assisting in both tallies.

Assumption got back to the scoring at the 14:14 mark in the half as Howard again used the free position shot to put one home.  Her teammate, junior attacker Emily Morrell (Bethany, Conn.) brought Assumption within 14-7 on an unassisted effort.

The Lions' finished the game with goals coming off the sticks of freshman midfielder Celia Campolettano (Hicksville, N.Y.), Sosnowski, Lacey and junior midfielder Kerianne Steine (Franklin Square, N.Y.). In the cage, senior netminder Carmen Sanfilippo (Hicksville, N.Y.) made six saves during her thirty minutes of work.

Overall, the Lions outshot the Greyhounds, 45-38. They also won the draw control battle 19-15 and forced 22 turnovers, while committing only 20. LaClair led the team by picking up four ground balls and grabbing six draw controls. Sosnowski also won four draws herself. Frisch, Brady and Sollitto picked up three ground balls apiece.

Kelley paced the Greyhounds with four goals and Howard put in three and assisted on four others. Morrell also finished with three goals in the game. Senior attacker Kendra Meador (Wakefield, Mass.) recorded three assists, while freshman goalie Julie Verbic (Mansfield, Mass.) made 14 saves and picked up six ground balls. 

Head Coach Tom Campolettano and the Lions' women's lacrosse team close out the regular season on Saturday as they host the top-ranked Panthers of Adelphi University at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, N.Y. The opening draw 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.