Men's Lacrosse Edges Out ECC-Rival Molloy for Critical 12-11 Victory; Cashman Produces Brilliant Performance in Goal
Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Mar. 28, 2012) – On Wednesday evening, the Mercy College men's lacrosse team traveled to Rockville Centre, N.Y. to square off against East Coast Conference-foe Molloy College without its reigning Division II Goalkeeper of the Year T.J. DiCarlo (Farmingdale, N.Y.), who was sitting out due to an injury. Nonetheless, the Mavericks received an outstanding performance from sophomore cageminder Mike Cashman (Bethpage, N.Y.) who kept his team in the game long enough for Mercy to pull out the triumph.
Cashman struggled in the first quarter surrendering seven goals to the Lions (5-3, 1-2 ECC). Molloy's Jimmy Davis netted three of those seven markers, while Mercy (3-3, 3-2 ECC) found the back of the cage four times.
The second quarter is when the pieces started coming together for the Mavericks. While sophomore midfielder Patrick Hodapp (Oak Ridge, N.J.) scored a goal in between a pair by junior attacker Mike Marzocca (North Babylon, N.Y.), Cashman shut the Lions out for 15 minutes. The two squads went into the intermission tied at 7-all.
The third quarter played witness to a couple of Mercy goals, but also a trio of Molloy tallies. Marzocca scored another with 12:07 remaining, while fellow junior attackman Joe Poppe (Elbridge, N.Y.) notched a man-down goal with 3:25 left.
Cashman allowed just one goal in the fourth at the 2:20 mark – the second-string goalkeeper held the potent Molloy offense scoreless for the first 12 and a half minutes of the final period. Prior to that Lions' goal, Marzocca scored twice. The 2:20 goal scored by Davis knotted the game at 11-11. With 57 seconds remaining in regulation and on the brink of overtime, Mercy junior midfielder John Fitzpatrick (Yorktown, N.Y.) ripped the ball past Molloy GK John Grebe for the exhilarating go-ahead goal. The Mavericks held on to lock down the thrilling 12-11 win.
For Mercy, Marzocca finished with an incredible five goals and one assist, while Poppe and Hodapp each scored twice. Between the pipes, Cashman earned the win in his first-ever collegiate start and recorded eight saves.
For the Lions, Davis racked up four goals, while Tom Englehardt had three. Davis added three assists to bring his points total to nine. Ryan Kudlek also dished out three assists. In the cage, Grebe stopped 12 shots.
Head Coach Steve Manitta and the Mavericks return to action on Friday when they host league-opponent Dominican (N.Y.) College at 1:00 p.m. The game will be played at SUNY Purchase.
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Post-game Interview with Mercy GK Mike Cashman:
On getting the news that he was starting today vs. Molloy…
"I knew it was going to be some big shoes to fill, but I was going to step up the best I could and help the team however I could."
On the support from his teammates…
"The team really had my back. They really kept me in it; kept me up when things were down after I'd given up a few goals. After the first quarter when we were down three, my teammates really helped get me back out there."
On his thoughts throughout the game…
"After I had one big save, I realized we were still in this and could easily win. We were only down by one [after the third quarter] and then a bunch of goals just kept on coming. We just made stuff happen in the second half. It was really big for us and everyone stepped up."
On his thoughts heading into the pivotal fourth quarter…
"I felt a little pressure, but it felt great. I knew I could do it."
On the support he got from T.J. DiCarlo…
"There is nobody better than T.J. as a friend and fellow goalie. Backing him up, I've learned everything from him. He was there all the time for me. He was right with me in the timeouts, at the end of quarters, he was giving me all the support he could."
On the thrilling 12-11 win over Molloy…
"It just feels amazing. It really does."
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