Franklin & Marshall head coach Todd Cavallaro recalls sitting in his office and imploring then-assistant coach Scott Meehan to find more pure goal-scorers. Power and range would be nice additions, too.
Meehan, now an assistant coach at Division I Saint Joseph’s, went searching and returned from a recruiting event with a possible solution: Kevin Mollihan, a 5-foot-10 attackman from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.
“We recruited the heck out of him,” Cavallaro said. “I knew he’d elevate our program to another level with his presence on the field, not just the scoring ability but with everything he brings to the table.”
Mollihan has certainly met Cavallaro’s expectations, as he entered his senior year a three-time USILA All-American and the 2018 Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Several records are falling in the beginning of 2020, with Mollihan’s 202 career goals (and counting) representing an F&M record. It is also tied for the most all-time by any Centennial Conference player.
Odds are Mollihan will break the latter record Saturday when the Diplomats travel to face Messiah, and he could feasibly reach the F&M career points record (321) that’s owned by Jon Dale. Mollihan entered the spring averaging 80 points per season and currently has 253. Should F&M play deep enough into May — it topped the Centennial Conference preseason poll — and Mollihan remains healthy, Dale’s record is certainly within reach.
Just don’t go telling Mollihan about where he’ll end up in the program record book.
“I don't pay too much mind to it,” Mollihan said. “It’s team success and whatever happens with our win-loss record. When we’re meeting in the corner after, it’s not thinking about goals or assists. It’s always if we won the game.”
Mollihan is quick to remind folks that he’s not alone on attack, either. He’s formed quite the partnership with junior Luke Keating, a Long Islander who’s twice earned USILA All-American honors and is the reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
If teams focus on one, the other thrives. They’re also quite close off the field. They’re often found studying together and enjoy playing Fortnite.
“He's ultimately my best friend on the field; he's probably the best attackman in the country,” Mollihan said of Keating. “He really sets me up every day in practice, in games. I can’t imagine what I'd be doing without Luke on the other side of the field.”