Taylor brothers finally getting a chance to play together with Molloy men’s lacrosse

The sound of a lacrosse ball hitting the net has always been a familiar one in the Taylor household. Growing up, Noah, Jake, Owen  and Liam spent countless hours in their backyard dreaming of the day they finally would share the field together.

That day was supposed to come in 2020, when the brothers were poised to make history as the first set of  four siblings to play together for Floyd’s lacrosse program. But just one week before the season kicked off, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and their dream was put on hold.

“I never thought that I’d be able to play with my brothers ever again,” Jake Taylor said.

Now, five years later, the brothers are getting a second chance at Molloy University, where they are suiting up together for the first time in their careers.

“It was definitely not something I ever thought was going to happen,” said their father, Mike Taylor, who  coaches the Shoreham-Wading River boys lacrosse team. “It’s exciting for us to be able to go to one spot and know your sons are going to spend time together and continue to compete and grow. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Noah and Jake played high school lacrosse for Floyd all four years. Owen played two years at Floyd before the family moved to Shoreham, and he played there his junior and senior years. Liam went to Floyd his freshman year and played for Shoreham in his sophomore, junior and senior years.

What initially robbed the Taylor brothers of their dream made this new opportunity possible. When Noah and Jake took redshirt years at Wingate University, thanks to an NCAA rule granted in response to the pandemic, they were given an extra year of eligibility.

Owen, a sophomore midfielder, was recruited by Molloy.  After his first season with the team, one by one, he began convincing his brothers to transfer.

“I was talking to Noah about coming to Molloy, and my parents were also talking. When we got him there, it was a great season for him. He ended the year with almost 50 points,” Owen said. “Then we started talking to Jake over the summer and throughout the whole year, just telling him how great of an experience we had and how it would be a great opportunity for him to play with me and Noah again.”

Jake, a junior righty attackman, quickly followed     senior lefty attackman Noah, joining the Lions this past fall. Liam, a freshman defender, spent his first semester at Bryant University before transferring to Molloy in January.

“At Bryant, I realized that opportunities for significant playing time were limited, which led to me entering the transfer portal,” Liam said. “The chance to play alongside my brothers once again was a compelling reason to make the move. I was like, ‘Wow, there’s something here.’ ”

Molloy is looking to make a deep run this season after finishing 8-10 last year and falling to top-seeded Mercy in the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament.  Assistant coach and recruiting director Tim McCabe said the addition of the Taylor brothers has filled crucial gaps in the roster.

“One after another, they started coming home,” McCabe said. “They were able to carve out roles right away, make the team better at every position, and it really is looking good this year.”

The Lions got off to a strong start, defeating  Southern New Hampshire University, 17-2, and Dominican University of New York, 20-3, before losing to Pace, 11-0, on Saturday.  

Jake has two goals and two assists, Noah has two goals and Owen has an assist. The Taylor brothers believe their skills and familial chemistry will help the team.

“Noah’s a big body, gets the people out of the way and I get the ground ball, and he feeds me all the time and I love feeding him, so it just works out,” Jake said. “We have great chemistry.”

It’s shaping up to be a season the Taylor family will never forget, but for the brothers, their focus remains on making it a memorable one for the entire program.

“Losing that season that you obviously think is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and now being able to get that again, it was a shock,” Noah said. “The bond has just been growing, and I think that’s another reason why we could do really well this year. We’re definitely going to make the most of it.”