Molloy slow out of the gate

Molloy College’s men’s lacrosse team will look to get things moving in the right direction when it takes a 2-5 record into Saturday’s East Coast Conference game at Dowling at 4 p.m.

“We’ve had a tough start, but everything can be fixed,” first-year coach Eric Petrullo said. “We lost a lot of goals and our defensive depth from last year. We’re very young and trying to find an identity.”

Though the majority of starters are gone from last season’s 10-3 team, Molloy returned four of its top five point producers in seniors Matt Dolan and Albert Maione, junior Brandon Peyer and sophomore Ryan Kudlek. Dolan scored a team-high 34 goals in 2009, while Maione and Kudlek, the ECC Rookie of the Year, netted 25 apiece.

Most of the offense runs through Maione, a midfielder who picked up All-America Second-Team and All-ECC First-Team accolades as a junior after transferring from New York Tech. He has nine goals and 12 assists through the first six games so far this season. Other midfield contributors are Peyer, junior Tommy Susko and sophomores Pat Fanning and Nick Donofrio.

Dolan, Kudlek and junior Peter Boucher comprise the starting attack and have 34 goals between them after seven games. Dolan paces the Lions with 16. Kudlek (nine goals) and Boucher (nine) are both graduates of Oceanside High School.

Aside from junior long-pole Joe Vissichelli, the defense is void of familiar faces and a “work in progress,” according to Petrullo. Freshmen Joseph Biscardi and Marco Licata worked their way into the starting lineup along with freshman goalie Tommy Bruno, who is being pushed for playing time by redshirt sophomore Glenn Greubel. 

“We’ve got a hard-working group of guys,” Petrullo said. “We have to keep our heads and spirits up.”

The Lions, who gave Petrullo his first win as head coach on March 9 against Dominican (CA), return home April 7 to face Mercy at 7 p.m.    

Promising start for women’s team

With seven returning starters in the fold and an influx of energetic freshmen, Molloy’s women’s lacrosse coach Tom Campolettano has reason to be excited about the team’s potential.

“We brought back a good chunk of talent and are looking to continue to grow as a program,” Campolettano said. “We’re trying to improve every day. We’d like to finish above .500 and win the conference.”

The Lions, who finished 7-9 a year ago, raced out of the gate with three straight victories before tasting defeat for the first time in 2010. The offense produced 53 goals over the first four games, led by seniors Rebecca LaFlare (nine goals), Kristie Sosnowski (eight) and Kerianne Steine (eight).

“I had no doubts we’d be able to score,” Campolettano said. “The big question was whether we could stop teams, and our defense seems to be much improved.”

LaFlare has been a scoring machine since her freshman campaign and came into the season as the school’s all-time leader with 130 goals. The two-time All-ECC Second-Team selection heads the attack along with senior Lori Sollitto and junior Maria Varricchio.

Sosnowski, junior Hayley Lacey and sophomore Emily Antonette set the tone for a midfield group bolstered by freshmen Christie Roell, Kaitlynn Kelly and Alexa Toscano. Kelly, a product of Oceanside, earned ECC Rookie of the Week honors for the second week of March thanks to a hat trick in a win over Holy Family.

The Lions lost their star power on defense as Kelly LaClair graduated, but the unit brought back a wealth of experience with juniors Lauren Kenny and Christina Metelenis and senior Samantha Modik. The trio and freshman Melody Sullivan jelled quickly in front of junior goalie Jackie Bove, a first-year starter who already has one ECC Goalkeeper of the Week award under her belt.

The conference swelled to eight teams this year and is expected to grow again in 2011. Molloy’s biggest tests come at C.W. Post on April 7 (4 p.m.) and at home versus Dowling on April 21 (7 p.m.) “We know what we’re up against,” Campolettano said.