Adelphi men's lacrosse team rides third-quarter surge into NCAA Division II Final Four
Kyle Lewis of Adelphi reacts after scoring a tying goal in the first period during an NCAA Division II men's lacrosse quarterfinal against Pace on Sunday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The seven national championship banners hang over the chain-link fence just behind the home bench — one next to another, separated by less than the length of a fully grown adult’s forearm.
They are the silent, unsubtle reminder of what the standard is for the Adelphi men’s lacrosse team.
“Every day when you see those things, it’s something that’s expected out of us and we expect it out of ourselves,” goaltender Dylan Renner said after the top-seeded Panthers’ 14-9 win over fourth-seeded Pace in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal at Motamed Field on Sunday afternoon.
Kyle Lewis scored four goals and Logan Tucker and Braden Donnellan each recorded a hat trick to spark the Panthers (15-2).
Adelphi, which reached the Final Four for the first time since 2017, will host third-seeded St. Anselm in a semifinal game next Sunday. The championship game will be played on Sunday, May 26, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
“They have earned it,” coach Gordon Purdie said of his team’s Final Four berth. “They’ve truly earned it.”
Pace (13-4) defeated fifth-seeded Mercyhurst, 18-10, in a first-round matchup Wednesday to guarantee a rematch against the Panthers, who had beaten the Setters, 12-6, on March 29 in Pleasantville.
In that contest, Adelphi led 6-1 at the end of the first quarter. And although the final result was similar, the start under a gloomy sky in Garden City on Sunday was not an exact replica of what transpired in Westchester six weeks ago.
The Panthers fell behind 2-0 after Ryan Kemp (1:30) and Trevor Lamoureux (2:25) scored 55 seconds apart in the first quarter. But as the quarter progressed, Adelphi began to find its game.
Donnellan (Massapequa) scored with 2:58 left. One minute and 41 seconds later, Lewis (Franklin Square) tied the score at 2-2 with his 25th goal of the season. And when Tucker (Massapequa) scored with one second left, the Panthers had their first lead of the game, 3-2.
“We all move the ball really [well] and move all together. That’s why our offense clicks and scores goals,” Donnellan said.
By halftime, the Panthers had extended their lead to 6-4.
For all intents and purposes, Adelphi put the game away in the third quarter. After Kemp scored his second of three goals 1:32 into the quarter to bring Pace within one, the Panthers scored four times in a span of 7:32, two of them by Lewis, to extend their advantage to 10-5.
Renner (Roslyn Heights) finished with 15 saves for Adelphi.
