John Tillman
Syracuse goalkeeper Dominic Lamolinara got his first opportunity to play college lacrosse four years ago for the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team.
Lamolinara, a product of St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis, expressed interest in playing for the Terps after his senior season in 2010. Former coach Dave Cottle knew Lamolinara’s parents — who both graduated from this university — and though Cottle didn’t have the resources to offer a scholarship, he provided the goalie with a chance to walk onto the team.
Lamolinara made the team, but there were already three goalies with more experience on the roster: Mark White, MJ Leonard and current starter Niko Amato. As a result, Lamolinara played just 6 minutes, 15 seconds in three games during his freshman campaign despite moving up the depth chart after White suffered an injury. At the end of the season, he decided to transfer to Syracuse.
The goalie paved a new path with the No. 1 Orange, starting the final 15 games of a 2013 NCAA tournament run that ended with a six-goal loss to Duke in the championship game. And while he has split time with Bobby Wardwell during the first two games of 2014, Lamolinara likely will get his chance to show the No. 7 Terps how far he’s come tomorrow. That’s when the teams face off in the regular season as conference opponents for the first and only time at the Carrier Dome.
“When guys leave, you hope that things work out for him,” said coach John Tillman, who replaced Cottle in 2011. “You know that lacrosse is really important to them and if they go to other places and they have success, you’re certainly hopeful for them knowing that sometimes it’s the right place at the right time.”
Tillman said Lamolinara showed improvement during his freshman season but lacked the experience to earn significant playing time. At that point, Amato had already spent a redshirt season in College Park, and when White was sidelined with an injury, Tillman moved Amato into the starting role over Lamolinara.
“Who knows if they had come in at the same time,” Tillman said. “But I think sometimes when you’ve been around and you’ve played at that level, it may give you a little bit of an advantage.”
Lamolinara got his first chance in goal for the Orange as a sophomore in 2012. But after losing two of his first three starts, Lamolinara was benched in favor of the highly touted freshman Wardwell. Lamolinara would have to wait 14 games for a second opportunity, but when it came, he took advantage.
Lamolinara replaced Wardwell at halftime against Johns Hopkins last season, making five saves in an eventual 13-8 win. He went on to start the last 15 contests of the season, posted an 8.65 goals against average on the season and led the Orange to the NCAA title game.
Lamolinara has started both games this season — wins over Siena and No. 10 Albany — but Wardwell replaced him for the second half each time. So the Terps don’t know who will be in net Saturday, though midfielder Mike Chanenchuk isn’t concerned.
“They’re both right-handed, and that’s kind of our biggest thing going into a game,” Chanenchuk said. “Whoever they play … we’re just going to do our best to shoot where we’re supposed to shoot.”
Tillman said he expects to see an even more improved Lamolinara on Saturday. After spending two years with the Orange, Lamolinara is a different player than he was his freshman year.
“We want our guys to be happy regardless of where they go,” Tillman said. “If they’re happy, they like where they are, they’re going to get a great education and have an opportunity to play, that’s great for them.”
