Rochester, N.Y. – As the clock ticked down during Wednesday afternoon's 19-8 victory over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference semifinal game on B.T. Roberts Turf Field, Roberts Wesleyan men's lacrosse coach Rocky Delfino couldn't help taking a trip back in time.
Thoughts of the 13 men who played on his first team nine years ago flashed through his mind as his current players began to celebrate the first postseason victory in program history.
"I thought about those guys who were the building blocks of this program and about all that we have been through in the first nine years," Delfino said. "I think it's great for my former players, it's great for my current players and it's great for the school."
Roberts (7-4), the tournament's second seed, will play top-seeded Mercy (8-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday on the Mavericks' home field in Dobbs Ferry. Mercy defeated Roberts 10-9 in overtime on March 20.
"Making history, you can't put it into words," said Roberts senior Mitch Streety, who won his first 11 faceoffs and finished the day 22-for-25 at the "X" while also adding two assists.
"For him to show up like that today was huge," said senior attack Matt Gademske, who led the Redhawks with four goals and four assists. "It's a huge confidence boost having a guy like that and knowing that you are going to get the ball back nine out of 10 times."
Senior Hunter Lemieux added three goals and an assist, including two goals in the opening 6:29 of the first quarter as the Redhawks took a 3-0 lead.
Connor Jones, Zach Cree and Michael Pierog all added two goals for Roberts and Jordon Deats and Reid Jackowski each finished with a goal and two assists. Luke Delavak, Nate Maloney, Gavin Marsh and Anthony Diamico also found the net for the Redhawks.
Pat Hynes made six saves for the Redhawks and Aidan Sheehan made two stops in relief.
Roberts carried a 5-2 lead into the second quarter and put up another five-spot before the half. Gademske converted a nifty shot after charging from behind the net with 2:56 remaining in the second quarter to send the Redhawks into the intermission with a 10-3 advantage.
Gademske finished with three goals and two assists in the opening half. Lemieux scored three times and Pierog twice.
Roberts scored a goal in the first minute of both the third and fourth quarters and held a 29-16 advantage in shots on goal for the game.
"This was amazing, especially given the circumstances and us getting a chance to host," Gademske said. "To be able to get a win like this at home, especially with me being a senior, is pretty special."
Now Roberts will turn its attention to attempting to make history by winning its first conference championship.
Delfino knows what it is going to take.
"We need to be all in," he said. "We've got to be patient, we've got to communicate and we've got to believe in ourselves."
Release provided by the Roberts Wesleyan Sports Information Department.
