By Matt Kinnear - Inside Lacrosse

How do you top a weekend that features the No. 1 team in the country and defending champion going against the No. 4 team, which has the lead Player of the Year candidate.

With some Monday afternoon fireworks, that's how.

On Saturday Limestone solidified its spot as the No. 1 team in the country, topping NYIT 8-7. Two days later, DII fans were treated to an up-and-down, fast-paced contest as Adelphi topped LIU Post, 13-11.

For Panthers coach Gordon Purdie, it was the way the game is meant to be played.

"When you get two teams that are going at it, with everything on the line like that," Purdie said. "It was a game that went up and down. It was not boring at all. …. It's good for Division II, and it's a great day to be a Panther."

And the Panthers these days are an unselfish bunch.

Adelphi has started the season on a tear, going 4-0. And it's not the record, but the way the team has been playing that has Purdie excited about the squad. The 2015 Panthers have been defined by unselfish play and stout defense.

Against LIU Post, 10 different players scored. Fourteen players scored goals against AIC (18-2), nine against Dowling (11-4), 10 against Saint Rose (16-4); 75.9% of their goals on the season are assisted.

Salvatore Tuttle has been the headliner thus far, but it's a system that allows lacrosse players to make plays and produce — no matter what their name is. Tuttle, who had three goals and an assist vs. LIU Post, frees up other players to make plays.

"He continues to lead us on the attack, and he's big, strong. He goes up against big strong guys and finds a way to get his hands free. We run an offense that adjusts really well to when teams double-team him, and teams have to double him and that creates for everybody else," Purdie says. "To have him on the field is exciting to watch."

Take junior Anthony DeLuca vs. LIU Post. The former Pioneer drew a double early in the game that led to a goal. He was put back in late in the game and scored a key goal with a few minutes left.

Or Paul Bentz, a Stony Brook transfer who didn't fit into the Seawolves system, but contributed a goal and three assists vs. LIU Post.

"Our style of offense opens up opportunities for lacrosse players to play. You don't necessarily have to be the 6-foot-4 big guy who can run by somebody to fit in our team," Purdie said.

The unselfish play continues at the other end, where a goalie tandem is leading the way.

DJ Mauro (4.51GAA, .679) and John McGrath (5.50 GAA, .593) have played nearly the same amount of minutes, switching at the halves. McGrath started and only let in six goals; Mauro finished with five goals against and some key late saves. James McCann and  and Joe Catalanotti, under the tutelage of former Panther Kyle Yberg, are leading a stout defense that has let in 21 goals over the first four games.

"Both Johnny and DJ show up every day in practice and in any day either of them can perform," Purdie says.

It's a selflessness reminiscent of the Panthers' heyday, as the team looks for its first title since 2001.

"We rely on a lot of different players being able to steep up and play our system. It's creating for the next guy. That's being a part of what Australia lacrosse is, what Adelphi lacrosse used to be in the 70s and 80s and the 90s," Purdie said. "We're embracing that offense."