Fast start for Molloy Lady Lions

With a deep and talented midfield setting the tone, Molloy’s women’s lacrosse team has picked up where it left off last spring when it finished 15-2 and went undefeated at home.

The Lady Lions have captured four of their first five out of the gate in 2011 while upping their home winning streak to 14 consecutive games. Junior midfielders Emily Antonette and Melanie Sosnowski combined for 45 of their 86 goals, while senior goaltender Jackie Bove is holding down the fort at the other end.

“We have a little more offensive balance than last year, a strong midfield and leaders on defense and in goal,” sixth-year coach Tom Campolettano said. “We just want to take things one game at a time and see how far we go.”

Antonette, who was an All-East Coast Conference selection in 2010, is off to an amazing start with 24 goals in five games. “She always seems to find an extra gear,” Campolettano said. Sonsnowski, whose older sister Kristie led Molloy a year ago with 52 goals, is flourishing after playing two seasons at Albany. Melanie has 21 goals. “I knew she’d definitely help us,” said Campolettano, who also relies on Kaitlynn Kelly, Nicole DeAngelis, Codi Reiser, Christie Roell, Emily Glenn and Nicole Mastrianni at midfield.

The starting attack features senior Maria Varricchio, who needs a dozen more points to reach 100 for her career, senior Hayley Lacey and sophomore Alexa Toscano.

Defensively, seniors Christina Metelenis and Lauren Kenny have All-ECC resumes and anchor a unit that includes sophomores Brianna Lively, Danielle Clesi and Kerry Canham. In Bove, the coach feels he has one of the best clearing goalies in the conference and a dependable shot-stopper. “Jackie’s been solid since she took over last year,” Campolettano said. “She’s a consistent player and a vocal leader.”

Lions look to turn corner  

Molloy’s men’s lacrosse team has suffered some tough early defeats in ECC action, but second-year coach Eric Petrullo is looking for the Lions to bottle up their 8-6 victory over Assumption March 22 and continue their momentum.

“We’ve been doing really well on the defensive side,” Petrullo said. “We allowed about 12 goals a game last year, but it’s something we fixed. We changed some offensive sets and we’re just now starting to jell.”

Sophomore attack Kenny Lutz enjoyed a six-goal game against Assumption and leads Molloy (2-5) through seven games with 16. Fellow attacks Ryan Kudlek and Brandon Peyer have scored five and four times, respectively. Jimmy Davis (10 goals) and Steven Genovese (six) are the keys to a promising midfield group that was bolstered by freshmen face-off contributors Kenneth Worker and Andrew Leo.

If the Lions continue to be stingy on the defensive end, they’re bound to improve on last year’s 5-9 overall mark. Junior goalie Glenn Greubel has been outstanding between the pipes. Senior Joe Vissichelli is one of the top long poles in the ECC, while newcomers Tom Elliott, Matt Taylor, Pat Foley and Kyle Frenger didn’t take long to mesh on defense.