Godfather of lacrosse leads Adelphi run

The Adelphi men returned from their NCAA national semifinal victory over Limestone to watch their counterparts on the women’s team capture their third straight NCAA title in Division II.

Not that the men needed any additional inspiration as they prepare for their title game against Mercyhurst (13-2) on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. With C.W. Post winning the last two titles and NYIT the one before that, Adelphi has its own incentive.

“It’s up to us to keep the title on Long Island,’’ junior attack Joe Vitale of Lynbrook said.

Adelphi (16-2) has not won the championship since 2001, but hopes to capture what would be the university’s eighth championship. And it would come in the big-time atmosphere known as Championship Weekend.

“I’m very much pumped about it,’’ Vitale said. “We have Friday and Saturday to practice to loosen up a little. We know there’s going to be about 25,000 people there. This is what I’ve worked for since kindergarten. This is my dream.’’

The architect of Adelphi’s resurgence is Australian-born coach Gordon Purdie, who played at Adelphi in the late 1980s. He was recruited by former coach Paul Doherty as an 18-year-old sensation in his native Melbourne. Purdie played in world games for Australia and was considered the country’s best player.

Purdie was an All-American at Adelphi and played for 10 years with the now-defunct New York Saints. “I hold many Adelphi records which will never be broken now that I am the head coach,’’ the fourth-year coach joked. Purdie rebuilt Adelphi despite the competition all around him. “There are so many great schools on Long Island that are ready to go after the Long Island players,’’ he said. Vitale, who leads the team in points with 65, could have elected to play in a built-in situation such as Post, NYIT or Dowling, but got to know Purdie when the coach was playing professionally with Vitale’s uncle.

“He came to my house, we had a nice talk and I figured ‘Why not?’ ” Vitale said. Purdie, 45, often practices with the team.

“He’s still good,’’ Vitale said. “He could still start for us.’’

Purdie is still playing.

“I spent over $3,500 to go to Prague in the World Lacrosse Tournament,’’ he said. “Because we made the Final Four, I had to forgo my place on the team. I was the oldest player.

They call me the godfather of lacrosse.’’

Men’s D-II final

What to expect in Sunday’s 4 p.m. game: Adelphi has plenty of offense in Vitale (37 goals, 28 assists), Tommy Susko (40, seven), Shane Wynn (28, 23), Kiernan Riegel (30, eight) and Michael Rossi (16, 18). It will have to fire on all cylinders against Mercyhurst, which has a hot goalie in Zach Nash (5.88 goals-against average). There’s also enough offense with Brian Sheetz (20, 20), Kyle Kallay (33, 10), Kevin Coholan (26, six) and Andy Winslow (17, 13) to make this a real toss-up. Prediction: Adelphi, 12-10.

Graduating to nationals

Adelphi midfielder Tommy Susko graduated from Molloy College and came to Adelphi to pursue a master’s degree in education. He had one year of eligibility left and now finds himself in the title game. “I know we had a good team going, everything just started rolling,’’ the Holy Trinity graduate said. “We said, ‘We can make the national championship.’ Now that’s where we are going.’’

Susko had another season to play because he lost his sophomore year at Molloy with a fractured wrist. “I worked through a lot of injuries,” he said. “I had three surgeries.’’ This is payback for his perseverance.

“It’s like a great way to end it all,’’ he said. “I was a ball boy here when I was younger. I was looking here but moneywise, it was a difficulty. I chose to go to Molloy, which is a great school and I graduated on time.”

Susko has attended Championship Weekend in the past, but this will be the first time as a player. He leads the Panthers with 40 goals.

“This has been the best year of my lacrosse career, words can’t describe it,’’ he said.

“It would be great to win on Sunday. It will be my birthday , too.’’

Graduate school can wait

Adelphi’s Elizabeth Fey has already been accepted to graduate school, but she wants to stay involved in lacrosse before embarking on the ambitious career path of becoming a forensic scientist.

First, she has the opportunity of becoming a graduate assistant coach under Joe Spallina.

“That’s what I’m leaning toward right now,’’ she said. “I don’t want to give up lacrosse . . . If we could go on the bus right now and play Maryland , we would do it.’’ Fey was accepted at John Jay for graduate study. Her future? “Hopefully for the FBI or CIA,’’ she said.

Fey was a forensic law major at Duquesne before transferring to Adelphi, where she had 119 goals and 46 assists in two seasons.

“I like being challenged on the field,’’ she said, “and I like being challenged to figure things out.’’

Her favorite TV shows include “Criminal Minds’’ and the CSI series.

Player of the week

Adelphi junior attack Erica Devito. She had four goals and three assists as Adelphi defeated Limestone, 17-4, to win its third straight NCAA title in Division II. Devito, who played at Shoreham-Wading River High School, now has a three-year total of 207 goals and 70 assists.