Adelphi erupts for 10 goals in third quarter to reach NCAA D-II semis

It was not a lamentation.

It was an unprompted acknowledgement of the obvious.

“They have so many weapons,” Molloy coach Bill Dunn said after top-seeded Adelphi routed the visiting fifth-seeded Lions, 21-7, in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal on Sunday afternoon at Motamed Field in Garden City.

Adelphi (17-1) advanced to next Sunday’s semifinal round where they will host second-seeded Saint Anselm, which outlasted third-seeded Seton Hill, 9-8.

It seems likely that Adelphi will lean heavily on an offensive attack that saw 12 players record at least one point and nine players score against Molloy (16-5). Michael Durnin led the Panthers with six goals and an assist.

“We’re able to push transition and score a lot of goals,” said Braden Donnellan, who had two goals and four assists. “When we’re playing team offense, that’s what we do.”

Exhibit A: Adelphi’s 10-goal third quarter outburst.

Molloy’s Brian Green (three goals, one assist) scored with a man-up with 12:34 left in the third quarter to cut Adelphi’s lead to 8-3. But then it was all Panthers.

Durnin (12:14), Donnellan (11:34), Noah Gibson (8:21), Donnellan (8:12), Michael Caiazzo (7:08), Frank Falco (6:55), Durnin (2:44), Kyle Lewis (1:53), Gibson (1:31) and Gibson (0:22) all found the back of the net.

“[They are] a very talented team,” said Molloy goaltender Christian Michaels, who allowed 20 goals before being replaced by John Basile for the final 12:04. “We just didn’t execute our game plan and take away what they wanted.”

The unfortunate irony is that Molloy began the game by employing a deliberate, clock-eating offense, roughly similar to a basketball team that uses a half-court approach against an opponent who wants to play at a high tempo. That worked reasonably well in the early going, as the Lions trailed 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.

Then the second quarter commenced. And when it came to an end, Adelphi had extended its lead to 8-2.

Durnin scored his third goal of the contest just over three minutes into the quarter and Gavin Herzog stretched the lead to 5-1 nearly three minutes later. Molloy’s Tommy Corcoran brought the Lions to within three 40 seconds later. But Lewis scored twice in a span of 1:11 and Gibson scored with a man-up with 1:38 remaining.

“We got boys who are extremely talented,” Adelphi coach Gordon Purdie said. “Over the course of the four quarters, some of that talent came through.”

Both offensively and defensively.

Adelphi entered the contest as the fourth-ranked scoring offense in Division II lacrosse this season, averaging 17.65 goals. As potent as the Panthers' attack is, they also are the second-best defensive team in Division II, yielding just 6.18 goals. Adelphi’s defense limited Molloy, whose 15.10 goals per game average ranked eighth in the nation, to 18 shots on goal (Adelphi had 28).

Goalkeeper Dylan Renner stopped 11 of 18 shots for Adelphi, which forced 21 turnovers, including six by Reis Bower.

“Our fundamental defensive matchups were great,” Purdie said. 

And they'll need to be great again next Sunday against Saint Anselm.

The Panthers are 1-1 against the Hawks this season. Adelphi lost the regular-season contest on April 9 to Saint Anselm, 9-6, before earning a 13-12 overtime win in the conference championship game on May 3.

“We definitely want to get them this next game,” Donnellan said. “Show them that we’re on top of them.”