With a 10AM start at Georgian Court in Lakewood, NJ, we arrived at Molloy by 5:30 and the bus pulled out before 6AM. Travelling that early on a Saturday worked out well, as we encountered almost no traffic along the way. As we headed west and then south, I was able to enjoy the views of the sun rising behind New York City.

We arrived at Georgian Court University, with plenty of time to get ready and get out to the field for our warm up. The weather was decent for February, and it would not prove to be a factor in this Battle of The Lions (both teams are the Lions). After rising to the occasion and playing well against Adelphi in our only previous game, I was concerned that we would take Georgian Court lightly and underperform – something that has plagued us, in the past.

In what would be a back and forth game of scoring runs, GCU jumped out to a 2 – 0 lead, only to see Molloy score the next four goals! The contest was knotted up 6 – 6, at halftime. The home team owned the Third Quarter, and held a 10 – 6 advantage, before Molloy scored its only goal of the Quarter, with one second remaining. GCU led 11 – 7 before Molloy netted the next four scores, tying the game at 11, with less than 6 minutes remaining. The two teams traded goals and regulation time ended, with the score tied at 12. Despite having several opportunities to get the game winner, first in regulation and then in the Overtime Period, we were unable to convert and it was GCU who got the game winning goal, with 13 seconds remaining in the OT.

I don’t know if we actually took the host team lightly, or if we just didn’t play quite well enough to win. I have been going over the game in my head, ever since it ended, and I still don’t have any answers. There were times during the game, when we played very well and it appeared that GCU did not even belong on the same field as us. But there were other stretches, when we did not look like we belonged out there with them. We dominated them statistically (outshot them 33 – 19, had 8 fewer turnovers, and picked up 25 ground balls to their 14!), so much so, that I am trying to figure out how we lost this game.

I am trying to keep this loss in perspective, and not make it more important than it really is. It is early in the season and this was a Non Conference Game. Some losses sting more than others and losing dramatically in Overtime, after erasing a late four goal deficit, stings a lot! But would we feel much different, if we had come out on top, by a goal?

There is still plenty of lacrosse, to be played – 14 more games, to be exact. I am hoping we can learn from yesterday and become a more consistently, good team. We have an opportunity to move in that direction, on Wednesday, when we return home to take on the Rams of Thomas Jefferson University.

GO LIONS!