Marciano, Coker dump Shorter in Cobras' inaugural lacrosse match

HARTSVILLE — As soon as the first lacrosse game in Coker College history was over, Steven Marciano jogged over to the fence and hugged his dad, Frank.

Frank’s flight from New York to watch his son play his first NCAA match was a long one. But it was worth it — for both of them.

Marciano scored five goals on a chilly night at Byerly Park, leading the Cobras to a 14-7 win over Shorter University in front of a crowd of 250.

“It hasn’t been that long my dad got over having cancer, so having him down here for this game is one of the most amazing things,” Marciano said. “This month is a year having him cancer-free. This is kind of emotional. I got a little choked up hugging him.”

Marciano, a junior transfer attackman from Suffolk County Community College, put on a show for his dad and got plenty of help from freshman attackman Keith LaClair, who found the net four times.

Shorter, an NAIA school in Rome, Ga., that is in the process of making the jump to NCAA competition, scored the game’s first two goals as the Cobras found their footing.

But once Coker got going, it didn’t let up, except for a late stretch in the fourth quarter when the Hawks scored three cosmetic goals in about a minute to make the score a little closer.

Marciano scored the first goal in Coker history with nine minutes left in the first quarter to make it a 2-1 game, and he gave his team the lead for good 1:48 later at 3-2 on an assist from junior midfielder Alex Salpeitro.

“To be honest, I’ve been dreaming about (scoring the first goal) ever since we started, and to be able to do it, it’s a little crazy,” Marciano said. “It was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

The Cobras, who led 8-4 at halftime, poured it on in the second half, extending their lead to 14-4 on Marciano’s final goal with 8:09 left.

The Cobras took advantage of 13 Shorter penalties and scored four of their goals with a man advantage. Fifteen of the game’s 23 penalties were called in the first half, including 10 in the second quarter alone.

“I think there were some jitters at first,” Coker coach Tony Smith said. “There were a lot of freshmen trying to figure out what to do and the refs were trying to figure out what to call.

“We expect to win all the time. What I didn’t know was the caliber of my kids under stress, and I found out some good things today. I found out that young kids can get poised quickly and that was a big thing.”

Smith said Marciano, one of the few players on the team who has college lacrosse experience, plays a key leadership role for the Cobras, much of it off the field. His presence was welcome on the field Friday, though.

Marciano said when he scored the first goal, he sensed his team settle down.

“I think they just felt like it was time to start playing lacrosse,” he said. “I stepped up there and I think they followed suit. Once we got that first goal, the weight was off the shoulders and we just started pumping them in after that.”

Ryan Vento scored two goals for the Cobras. Kyle Van Kauwenberg scored three goals to lead Shorter.

Coker hosts Catawba at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Byerly Park.