Garden City, N.Y. - After trailing by three goals entering the fourth quarter of the NCAA First Round on Motamed Field, a late rally by the Adelphi University men's lacrosse team fell short when Salvatore Tuttle's game-tying effort found the stick of Merrimack College keeper Dom Madonna for a 10-9 final score in favor of the Warriors.

Adelphi (15-3) saw six players find the back of the net on the day, led by three goals from Tuttle and two from Jack Cutrone. The Panthers took a total of 44 shots in the game, with 12 resulting in saves by Merrimack keeper Dom Madonna. Max Allen and Tucker Swarz each tallied three goals against Adelphi goalie DJ Mauro for Merrimack (13-2), who advance to a Final Four matchup against the Le Moyne College Dolphins next weekend in Syracuse. 

The Panthers got on the board first courtesy of Tuttle's first goal of the contest just 42 seconds into the game, before Swarz and Ryan Poirier went back-to-back for the Warriors to give them their first lead of the day. Three consecutive man-up goals for Tuttle, Nick Susko and Cutrone put the Panthers up 4-2 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter, and that proved to be the score at the end of the first 15 minutes of play.

Allen scored the first of Merrimack's four second-quarter goals man-up at 12:14, before Jamie McAndrew scored just 33 seconds later to restore the two-goal cushion. From there, the Warriors reeled off three straight goals to take a one goal lead, but Cutrone's second goal of the half with 3:08 remaining ensured the game would go to halftime tied up at 6-6. 

Three straight goals by the Warriors in the third quarter gave them firm control of the game, as Tim Towler and Swarz combined for the three scores. The score remained 9-6 in Merrimack's favor until the 2:26 mark, when Connor Duddy converted on an extra man opportunity to cut the lead to two as the game headed to the final quarter. 

Allen's final goal of the game came with 11:34 remaining in the contest to restore the three-goal advantage, before Adelphi's late quarter comeback began. Anthony DeLuca fired a pass from Paul Bentz into the back of the net to cut the lead to two, before Tuttle scored again with 2:57 remaining to make it a one-goal game, 10-9.

With Merrimack holding possession with under a minute to play and out of the timeout with 28 seconds to go, the Warriors turned the ball over and ensured Adelphi would get one final chance to tie the game. James McCann picked up the ground ball for Adelphi, and after a successful clear attempt, Tuttle streaked towards the goal to go one-on-one with Madonna. The junior fired the ball up high but Madonna was up to the task, stopping the shot with one second to go and putting the Warriors into the Final Four.

Adelphi ends its season in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, after the Panthers captured the Northeast-10 Tournament crown for the second year in a row as well.