Garden City, N.Y. – Just last week, two former Adelphi men's lacrosse standouts helped the Australian Footscray Lacrosse Club win the State League Finals; a feat that has not been seen in the Club's history. Danny Blau, a 2012 graduate, and Jeff Melsopp '13, spent the season down under and heavily contributed to the success the club enjoyed this year.
 
Both Blau and Melsopp were part of the historic 2011 Adelphi lacrosse squad that was crowned the NCAA Runner up, breaking a 10 year NCAA Championship appearance drought. Success followed them halfway around the world as they helped the Footscray Lacrosse Club win the State League Finals. Courtesy of the connection that Head Coach Gordon Purdie has with Australian lacrosse, they were introduced to the club through him.

Ironically, Purdie originally tried to set them up with Surrey Park; the club he grew up playing for. However, after having a finalized roster and being unable to accommodate extra players, Purdie put in a call to Footscray who accepted the Panther duo.
 
"Growing up in Australia and supporting Surrey Park, you live to hope for the club's success," stated Purdie. "When I made a phone call to Surrey, they said they didn't need any Adelphi players this year. I don't think they realized that when they turned us down that they would see Jeff and Danny in a championship matchup."
 
For Footscray, Blau played in 13 games and logged 11 goals and 17 assists on the season while Melsopp appeared in 11 games and had one assist as a defender. The squad posted an 11-5 record prior to the finals and then went on a three-game streak, defeating Malvern, Williamstown, and then finally Surrey Park where they won 10-7 to secure the title. In that game, Blau notched two goals and three assists while Melsopp was credited with one assist and helped the defense hold Surrey Park to just seven goals.
 
At Adelphi, Blau was a three-time NE-10 First-Team All-Conference honoree, two-time All-American (second team and honorable mention) and a 2012 ECAC All-Star. Over his four year Panther career, he played in 57 games, and had 150 points on 72 goals and 78 assists while scooping up 101 ground balls.
 
In four years playing for the Brown and Gold, Melsopp played in 67 games and collected 172 ground balls as a defender. Hewas named to the All-Rookie team in 2010 and went on to earn a slew of honors which included First-Team All-Conference (twice), Second-Team All-American (twice), NE-10 All-Tournament Team and was a North-South All-Star Game participant.

Footscray season schedule and results | Final game box score